Regions set to benefit from new creative industries funding

• Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray is in the home of The Beatles to champion a record £500 million funding package for research, development and innovation in the creative industries
• Minister Murray is encouraging regions to bid for funding in the next wave of the Creative Clusters programme, which has helped boost Liverpool City Region's music innovation sector 
• This builds on government plans to grow the sector through the government's Industrial Strategy and Creative Industries Sector Plan

Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray visited Liverpool, the region with the most UK number one records and home to more than 1,400 music businesses, as he set out a significant package of funding and support for creative industries across the UK.

Liverpool City Region was awarded nearly £7 million in 2024 as the UK's leading music innovation and technology cluster, to build on its status as one of the most renowned centres of music anywhere in the world. 

As the government delivers the next phase of the Industrial Strategy's Creative Industries Sector Plan, Minister Murray is now calling on regions across the country to bid for an additional £27 million in funding to grow their own clusters of cutting-edge creative businesses and replicate Liverpool City Region's success. The funding will help to boost economic growth in the winning areas, forging lasting partnerships between creative enterprises and universities, while creating training and job opportunities and driving the development of innovative new content, products and services in sectors such as film, TV, video games, fashion and music.

Creative Industries Minister, Ian Murray, said:

We've seen the transformative impact that government investment has had on Liverpool City Region's music industry, helping innovative projects like MusicFutures flourish. In our Industrial Strategy, we committed to driving growth and building on the regional clusters of creativity that exist across the UK. 

I am pleased to launch the search for the next hotbeds of creative excellence to support. As part of a record settlement of research and development funding over the next three years and beyond, we are going to help artists, entrepreneurs and businesses up and down the country innovate with new technologies, attract investment and nurture talent.

This is part of an unprecedented package of investment in research and development by the government totalling at least £500 million, which will ensure that the UK remains a world leader in creative industries innovation. 

The funding package includes: 

• £369 million allocated to the creative industries by UKRI over the Spending Review, of which £100 million is specifically allocated to supporting innovative companies. 
• £25 million secured at the 2025 Spending Review for DCMS Createch Futures programme 
• £155 million to develop creative economy infrastructure through the DiSCCO (Distributed System of Scientific Collections) programme, an initiative to digitise the nation's vast natural science collections
• Investment in the Creative Content Exchange, a future trusted digital marketplace for digitised cultural and creative assets, through the Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme.

Thousands of creative businesses are set to benefit from this funding and a broader package of support. This includes revised HMRC guidance for the research and development tax relief, developed with input from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. This makes it clearer when creative businesses can apply for support for eligible interdisciplinary innovation, as outlined in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. 

Guiding this funding support, UKRI has today published the R&D Strategy for the Creative and Cultural Economy, a new Creative Industries Research and Development Strategy. Highly innovative creative businesses across the country are set to benefit from UKRI programmes that will deliver public and private investment, develop new creative technology and create more opportunities for British businesses to sell internationally or seek investment.

In Liverpool, Minister Murray joined an event hosted at the ACC (Arena and Convention Centre) by MusicFutures, a government-funded partnership for innovation in music delivered collaboratively by the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Steve Rotheram Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:

Music has always been a huge part of our area's identity, we're bursting with talent - which is why we invested £2 million in the Liverpool City Region Music Board. What we're now seeing is what's possible when government backs that creativity with real ambition.

MusicFutures shows how we can build a more equitable, sustainable and innovative music industry – one where artists feel valued, cutting-edge technology like AI creates opportunities for the next generation, and our region continues to lead on the global stage.

We've given the world a new soundtrack once before – and with MusicFutures, we have all the talent, ambition and drive to do it again.

Professor Christopher Smith, UKRI sector champion for the creative industries and Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, said:

UKRI has confirmed a record investment in the creative industries because they are vital to the UK's prosperity and to driving economic growth through the industrial strategy. But for that scale of investment to deliver maximum benefit, we need to ensure it is used wisely and strategically. 

That's why we are today launching our R&D Strategy for the Creative and Cultural Economy. It will focus on making the most of our world class CoSTAR Network and Creative Industries Clusters, and scaling and growing the businesses, talent, skills, policy and evidence we need to supercharge the sector.  

This strategy lays out the most connected and coherent investment we have ever made in the sector, building on past success, and will help us keep the creative and cultural sector at the heart of the UK economy.

The MusicFutures cluster is part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)'s Creative Clusters programme, which funds research and development partnerships across different creative sectors. The programme connects universities with businesses to drive innovation, skills, job creation, and economic growth. The first wave of Creative Clusters generated £270 million public and private investment from an initial £56 million programme investment by the government.

Applications are now open for the next cohort of Creative Clusters, with the programme seeking to address gaps in the reach and coverage of previous and existing clusters. Over £27 million worth of funding will be split across successful applicants, with the maximum award per project being nearly £7 million.

Elsewhere, Liverpool City Region was also awarded £25 million, as part of the Government's Creative Places Growth Fund, a new approach to supporting creative industries by devolving funding to high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs). The Combined Authority is now working with partners across Liverpool City Region to enhance strengths and skills in games development, film production, music technology and creative services.

This package of measures further demonstrates partnership between industry and government through work with the Creative Industries Council, Creative Industries Taskforce and Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.

ENDS

Additional stakeholder quotes: 

Richard Koeck, Director of the AHRC Creative Cluster MusicFutures said:

“We're honoured to welcome the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, Ian Murray MP, to MusicFutures at the ACC Liverpool waterfront hub. Our mission is clear, that is to establish the Liverpool City Region as a global leader in music innovation. By linking our world-class research with a dynamic ecosystem of over 1,500 music businesses, our ambition is to boost not only Liverpool's global music profile but also fuel the wider growth across the region's creative industries.”

Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool said:  

“We are delighted to welcome the Rt Hon Ian Murray MP to Liverpool and to showcase MusicFutures, a powerful example of how targeted government investment can unlock growth, skills and innovation in the creative industries. MusicFutures brings together universities and the wider music sector to nurture talent, entrepreneurship and intellectual property initiatives. Through this ambitious collaboration, we are helping to build a more inclusive and sustainable music ecosystem, while further establishing the Liverpool City Region as a UK hub for music innovation and future-facing creative employment.”

Professor Rachel McLean, Director of LJMU's School of Art and Creative Industries, and Chair of the Liverpool City Region's Creative and Digital Cluster Board said:

“We're delighted to showcase the fantastic work we are delivering through the MusicFutures creative cluster.”

“LJMU is proud to be in partnership with University of Liverpool for this key initiative which is building on the Liverpool City Region's thriving music sector to nurture and develop the wonderful creative talent we have in the region and drive economic growth.

“Together with our partners, we are using our expertise and world class research to ensure our city region is at the cutting edge of music innovation and creating real opportunities for people to fulfil their potential.”

Tom Adeyoola, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, said:

“Everything from gaming to entertainment, music and the arts, fuel our collective creativity and support thousands of businesses and high-quality jobs across the UK.

“The launch of UKRI's R&D Strategy for the Creative and Cultural Economy marks a significant moment for our creative industries, which represent both an important part of our economy and our cultural and national identity. 

 “We're fully committed to turning this strategy into real impact, helping to convert bold, creative breakthrough ideas into high potential businesses which start, scale and stay in the UK, and become the industry giants of tomorrow.

 “By streamlining access to funding and accelerating commercialisation of cutting-edge technologies, we will ensure opportunities reach regions and sub-sectors, driving inclusive growth and positioning the UK as the world's leading destination for creativity and innovation.”

Notes to editors:

• Today's announcement demonstrates the progress being made by the government in delivering the Industrial Strategy, focusing on the innovation commitments made in the Creative Industries Sector Plan. 

• The £369 million UKRI funding allocation was announced on 17 December. This includes funding already announced for the Creative Industries Clusters programme, as part of a £100 million total investment that will continue beyond the Spending Review period, the £25 million investmentin the expansion of the CoSTAR programme and the investment in the Creative Content Exchange. Creative businesses will also be able to benefit from broader UKRI-led programmes including up to £1.6 billion of AI investment.

Alongside the funding commitment and publication of UKRI's new creative industries R&D strategy, other commitments delivered include:

• The opening of AHRC's £100 million Creative Clusters competition, as the next wave of applications were welcomed this month. This iteration will be a £27 million package, to be awarded at a maximum of nearly £7 million per cluster.
• Publication of evidence-based createch recommendations by UKRI that will be considered by DSIT and DCMS as part of our ambition to maximise createch growth, published by AHRC and delivered with the support of the Creative Policy and Evidence Centre and CoSTAR Foresight Lab.
• A new name for DCMS's £25 million Creative Futures programme - this will be renamed as Createch Futures, in response to the recommendations published by UKRI. 
• Updated HMRC R&D tax relief guidance, developed with Creative Industries Taskforce support, clarifies when creative work qualifies as R&D because it advances science or technology.

Creative Cluster programme search criteria:

• Broadening the geographical reach of the clusters
• Contributing to delivery of the UK's Creative Industries Sector Plan
• Directly addressing known sector challenges as part of their work including, but not limited to:
  • skills and talent development
  • equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
  • business growth
  • environmental sustainability

The DiSCCO (Distributed System of Scientific Collections) programme is subject to final business case approval.

UKRI's high-level strategy for the Creative and Cultural Economy will inform the design of programmes that will ensure research and innovation drives and sustains growth over the next 10 years and will be further developed in collaboration with the Creative Industries Council over the next 6 months.