UK Music launches Welsh music manifesto to turbocharge economy, drive tourism and tear down export barriers ahead of key elections

UK Music has launched a Manifesto for Music in Wales based on a five-point plan to turbocharge the economy and drive tourism to Wales ahead of the Welsh Senedd elections on May 7.  

The organisation, which champions the UK music industry, believes the five-point plan laid out in the manifesto could increase the 834,000 “music tourists” who visited Wales in 2024; build on the 3,650 jobs supported by music in Wales in 2024; and add to the £384 million music contributed to the Welsh economy in 2024 (figures taken from UK Music's Hometown Glory report – see notes to editors).  
 
Wales has produced some of the world's best loved artists, from Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones, Manic Street Preachers, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Stereophonics, to Duffy, Charlotte Church, Catatonia and Cate Le Bon to name but a few.  
 
Now, UK Music is calling on all candidates standing in the Welsh Senedd election on May 7 to back the manifesto to boost homegrown music businesses and creators, ease touring at home and abroad, and make a great music education accessible for all. 
 
The five key recommendations in UK Music's Manifesto for Music Wales are:    

• Grow Welsh music through smart public investments 

• Bring down barriers to exporting Welsh music 

• Ensure music education is accessible to all 

• Ensure AI policy supports homegrown creativity 

• Use music to drive Welsh tourism  

The main points include: strategic public investments to safeguard vital music institutions and infrastructure and boost workforce opportunities; a drive to remove the barriers that have made touring the EU unviable for so many emerging Welsh acts; ensuring that an excellent music education is available to all; delivering an AI policy that supports homegrown creativity by ensuring that big tech firms cannot steal the work of human creators without payment, permission, and transparency; and harnessing the power of Wales's incredible music sector to drive tourism to the country (full details of all the recommendations are below under notes to editors).   
 

UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said: "Wales boasts a proud and rich musical heritage that has produced some of the world's most successful and best loved artists. 

“This manifesto will harness the power of Wales's incredible music sector to turbocharge economic growth, ramp up tourism to the country and make sure that everyone, no matter what their background, has access to a great music education.  
 
"It will also produce practical solutions to the big challenges affecting the sector, from ensuring big tech firms are not allowed to steal human creations to train AI systems, to tearing down barriers to Welsh musical exports." 
 
Wales's iconic music events, venues, and institutions have long been essential components of its musical ecosystem and must continue to be safeguarded and nurtured.  
 
In 2025, Cardiff's Principality Stadium hosted homegrown heroes Stereophonics for two sold-out nights, and Green Man in the Brecon Beacons – the UK's largest independent festival - entertained a 25,000 strong crowd for four nights of music.  

This cultural strength translates into economic value, with music tourism in Wales adding £384 million to the economy – a key part of the £8 billion music contributed to the UK economy in 2024. 
 
But challenges remain. Internationally renowned Welsh music institutions such as the Welsh National Opera (WNO) and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) face severe financial pressures. Meanwhile, internationally important venues have faced closure, Welsh musicians continue to feel the impact of Brexit, and grassroots music spaces are under pressure. 
 
The manifesto covers the vast diversity of Welsh music and its creators along with the importance of its vital music venues, studios and music businesses.   

It also includes case studies from Cardiff-based artist Aleighcia Scott and Neal Thompson of FOCUS Wales - Wales's largest international music showcase festival and industry conference. Each case study offers fascinating insights into the workings of the Welsh music industry.   

Full details on key points of the five-point plan in Manifesto for Music Wales are below:  

Grow Welsh music through smart public investments 

Public funding for Welsh music is mainly distributed through Arts Council Wales and Creative Wales. However, a 2025 report by the Senedd Culture and Sport Committee found Wales's culture spend per capita is the second lowest in Europe. While increased funding is part of the solution, a strategic plan for nationally important institutions is needed. The future of nationally important music institutions must be safeguarded as part of a long-term strategic plan, to ensure strong cultural infrastructure and international visibility, as well as resilience to political and economic shocks. The Creative Wales Film Studios Fund should be extended to recording studios. A 2024 survey by the Music Producers Guild (MPG) showed 100% of studios surveyed were unable to pass on costs to their clients and 50% were considering closing. Creative Wales should introduce a new dedicated fund for music recording and rehearsal studios to fund a business rates reduction and give studios vital breathing space. A Welsh Music Production Growth Fund should be introduced. Similar to the UK-wide Film and HETV (High-end TV) tax credits programme, the Welsh Government should develop a funding programme that incentivises the business of Welsh music production, with a cultural test and minimum spend requirements. This would incentivise business spending in Wales and help the market for homegrown music businesses. 

Bring Down barriers to exporting Welsh music 

Welsh music exports are an important part of the UK's music exports worth £4.8 billion. There remains significant room for growth, particularly in Welsh-language music. Leaving the EU has created several barriers that make EU tours expensive, bureaucratic and confusing. The UK Government must be held to its commitment to fix EU touring. As a result of leaving the EU, Welsh music continues to face the practical consequences of Brexit, including restrictive visas and work permits, complex red tape such as ATA carnets and barriers around selling merchandise. The UK Government has made a manifesto commitment to reduce these obstacles, and the Welsh Government must keep pressure on Westminster to deliver on this promise. The next Welsh Government should continue to press the UK to rejoin Creative Europe or its successor programme, AgoraEU. The Welsh Government should establish a Welsh Music Touring Fund (WMTF) to provide direct support for Welsh musicians touring across the UK and internationally. This fund would complement and scale the work already undertaken by FOCUS Wales, Tŷ Cerdd, and TRAC as part of the ‘Welsh Music Abroad' initiative. In the absence of a UK-wide music export office, a Welsh music export office should be established to provide subsidised technical touring expertise and networks to ease the cost and administrative burdens. Wales's Domestic Music Infrastructure should be strengthened. A 2022 study found Wales has 554 music-industry businesses, including 472 venues, 75 recording studios and seven dedicated rehearsal facilities. However, these spaces are facing increasing pressures such as high rents and energy costs, which are pushing many towards closure. By supporting venues, studios and creative spaces, the Welsh Government can secure the foundations of the sector. Reducing business rates on these spaces, investing in new rehearsal and recording facilities, and supporting venue planning safeguards - such as “Agent of Change” – will help the next generation of Welsh artists flourish. 

Ensure music education Is accessible to all 

Funding for the National Music Service (NMS) must be strengthened and secured. Ensuring funding does not stagnate or reduce is crucial for maintaining and expanding the music-making opportunities offered in local areas. To maintain and expand its impact, the Welsh Government should increase NMS funding to at least £5 million per year to maximise the reach and quality of music education for all children. The success of the NMS highlights the need for its funding to be protected in legislation to ensure its long-term stability. Action is needed to grow and protect the skills and education Pipeline. In 2025, Cardiff University announced plans to axe its School of Music. After much criticism and campaigning by UK Music and its members, this proposal was abandoned, but cuts still went ahead. Meanwhile, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama cut its youth music services. These reductions threaten the future of classical music in Wales, potentially forcing students to leave the country to pursue their studies. The Welsh Government must protect these institutions, including targeted top-up funding that supports subjects like music. The Welsh Government should work closely with industry to devise bespoke music industry apprenticeship schemes that are flexible enough to fit the structure of the industry in Wales and to help young people and businesses to grow.Fees for instrumental music tuition need to be removed. Scotland removed tuition fees for instrumental tuition in 2021 to ensure that being a musician is not limited to the those whose parents have the deepest pockets. The policy has seen success in terms of driving demand to engage in music, with a more than 50% increase in pupils taking music lessons. Wales should follow this lead, ensuring this commitment is supported by ring-fenced funding so the National Music Service is not compromised in delivering its other priorities. 

Ensure AI policy supports homegrown creativity 

With two new AI Growth Zones in Wales, and the potential for thousands of new jobs in data centres and associated infrastructure, Wales is set to become a major player in AI in the UK. It is therefore vital Wales is fully considered in the UK government plans for AI regulation, and that the Welsh Senedd's own ‘Plan for AI' works for all sectors in Wales, particularly the creative industries. This is because there is grave concern from the music and wider creative industries that large AI companies are training their models on copyright works without consent or remuneration, and that those models are then competing with human-made works, impacting the incomes of music creators and music businesses. We call on the next Welsh government to use its influence to ensure any new regulations on AI set by the UK Government meet the needs of the Welsh music industry. Welsh AI policy should be developed together with the creative industries. The Welsh Government should appoint representatives from the music and wider creative Industries to ensure that decisions on AI fully consider those likely to be impacted.  The commitment in the Welsh Government's ‘Plan for AI' that “AI is used in ways that are transparent, inclusive, and safe” is welcome, but these principles must be applied in all aspects of AI, not just adoption. They must clearly address the concerns of the music industry around mass copyright infringement by large language models, unfair competition from AI slop, and embedding existing biases in music. There should be practical guidance developed jointly with the creative and tech sectors to ensure that ethical principles around compliance with UK copyright law, labelling, and remuneration can be embedded in the Welsh AI sector. All political and legal levers should be used to protect Welsh copyright. The next Welsh Government should explore all options to prevent the UK Government diluting copyright or giving away Welsh creators' music through copyright exceptions. Extra protections are needed to enable Welsh rightsholders and creators to enforce their rights and encourage a market in AI training data for those who wish to participate. Many AI companies are stealing from Welsh creators and rightsholders - with no legal obligation to disclose the copyright works used in training or the legal basis for that use. We call on political leaders in Wales to use to ensure the Government brings forward legislation requiring transparency on use of copyright works from AI developers, and compliance with UK copyright laws as a condition of market access. Without transparency and market access rules, there is no incentive for AI companies to pay copyright owners for their works. This undermines opportunities for growing an AI licensing market that could bring revenue to Welsh creators and rightsholders. This must be addressed as a matter of utmost urgency.  

Use Music to drive Welsh tourism 

In 2024, music tourism in Wales brought in 834,000 visitors, supported 3,650 jobs, and delivered £384 million in revenue – up 76% from £218 million in 2022. Wales has deep choral and folk traditions often demonstrated at Eisteddfodau across the country. It is home to globally renowned organisations like the Welsh National Opera, and festivals like Green Man in the Brecon Beacons and In It Together in Port Talbot. Iconic music and concert venues, including Cardiff's Clwb for Bach and Brangwyn Hall in Swansea show the strength of Wales's live music scene. By investing in music tourism, Wales can grow local music sectors, drive economic growth, and support its rich cultural heritage.Councils should be encouraged to use visitor levies to support music. From April 2027, local authorities in Wales will have the option of introducing a visitor levy of £1.25 per night for those staying in hotels and Airbnbs. This creates a new revenue stream that could be invested directly in the music and cultural infrastructure to make places more vibrant and attractive to visitors. Music must be part of a renewed Welsh Tourism Strategy. Wales's most recent tourism strategy, Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the Visitor Economy 2020–2025 was published in January 2020. This strategy missed an opportunity in not giving music tourism a distinct focus. As the Welsh Government develops its next tourism plan, music tourism should be established as a discrete strategic priority with its own targets, funding, and support. This should include integrating music into Visit Wales's international marketing campaigns, while ensuring Government departments, local authorities, and the music industry work together to coordinate investment in music to boost visitor numbers. Councils must be empowered to lead place-based tourism initiatives. Councils should use their powers over planning, licensing, economic development, and cultural and leisure services to create the infrastructure and programmes needed to attract music tourists. Areas could launch a “Year of Music,” adopt a “Neighbourhood of Culture” model, or highlight heritage through blue plaques on iconic studios and venues. The Welsh Government can drive this by giving councils the funding, guidance, and flexibility they need to turn music tourism ideas into programmes that align with national strategies. 

The definition of “music tourism” can be found below:   

A domestic music tourist is defined as those who are travelling from within the UK to see live music events, provided they travelled more than three times an average commute for that region. The distance varies region by UK region. A foreign music tourist is someone who has travelled from outside the UK to attend an event in the UK.  
   

UK Music Hometown Glory Report:  
   

The UK Music Hometown Glory report reveals the full extent of music tourism's contribution to the UK economy. You can find out more on the report and read it in full here.