UK electronic music generates £2.47 billion in 2025

The fourth Night Time Industries Music Industry Report has found that audiences and regional scenes are growing, despite economic pressures leading to club closures and disrupting the UK’s nightlife infrastructure.

Despite the loss of over one in three nightclubs since 2020, UK electronic music generated £2.47 billion in measurable economic activity in 2025, up 3% year-on-year, as revealed in the Fourth Electronic Music Report. The report was produced by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) in partnership with Audience Strategies and Amazon Music.

Since March 2020, the UK has lost 36% of its nightclubs. Over the same period, electronic music event programming has grown by 10.5%, highlighting sustained audience demand even as the physical infrastructure that supports nightlife continues to decline.

The UK ranks second in the world for electronic music development, with 13 artists in the global Top 100 DJs and 72 in the Top 500. British artists represent 11% of global electronic music creators, yet account for 15% of the world’s Top 500, illustrating the UK’s outsized cultural influence.

Genres pioneered in the UK continue to be globally dominant, with 30.5% of drum and bass artists and 14.7% of dubstep producers worldwide originating here. Exports reached £86.8 million in 2025, an 8% increase year-on-year.

The report warned, however, that these successes may hide the growing structural weaknesses in the UK’s electronic-music industry, especially the continued closure of many mid-tier venues.

Only 15% of UK venues now fall within the 500-2,500 capacity range, making it harder for emerging artists to progress beyond grassroots level. Rising operational costs, high business rates, a 20% VAT rate on ticket sales, licensing pressures and weak planning protections have made this sector increasingly unviable.

Grassroots venues now operate on an average profit margin of only 0.48%, with operators earning around £26,000 a year while working 60-hour weeks. As well as this, 81% of producers earn less than 10% of their income from royalties, while 64% of nightclub performance royalties are misallocated due to data and attribution failures.

“Electronic music remains one of the UK’s most powerful cultural and economic assets, but the domestic ecosystem that sustains it is now in crisis,” said Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA. “We are seeing free parties rise, mid-tier venues disappear and audiences pushed out of licensed spaces - not because demand is falling, but because the sector is being squeezed by sustained economic pressure.”

However, the report has found that music audiences are not declining. Instead, they are changing how, when and where they engage.

Free events now account for 15% of all electronic music programming, rising 34% year-on-year. Daytime electronic music events have increased by 82%, and an interest in silver events is up 92%, reflecting how nearly 40% of Gen Z adults abstain from alcohol.

As licensed venues disappear, electronic music activity is increasingly moving into alternative spaces, including cafes. Activity in art galleries has also risen by 83%, while record shops have seen a 53% increase.

The report cautioned that the growth of free parties and unlicensed events reflects a displacement effect, as audiences are pushed out of traditional venues by rising costs, reduced capacity and shrinking availability.

For the first time, the North has led this growth in electronic music events, as London’s dominance has declined. A majority (51%) of UK electronic music events now take place outside of London, with growth being strongest in the North of England, where electronic music activity increased by 93% between 2022 and 2025. Newcastle recorded 72% year-on-year growth, far outpacing London and highlighting the emergence of new regional powerhouses.

The report highlights that while this regional expansion is a major opportunity for cultural and economic growth, the same issues that have caused London’s nightlife to decline could be replicated across the regions if there is no targeted investment in venues and infrastructure.

“The North is leading growth and innovation, proving that opportunity exists if infrastructure is protected,” said Kill. “This report shows extraordinary resilience, but resilience is not a policy. Without urgent reform - from VAT alignment and business rates relief to meaningful planning protections - we risk dismantling the very foundations that made the UK a global leader.”

The report contrasts the UK’s lack of action with international examples of coordinated policy support, such as Amsterdam’s annual €2.2 million investment in nightlife, or Germany’s reclassification of clubs as cultural institutions to unlock tax relief and planning protections. Meanwhile, the UK maintains a 20% VAT rate on cultural tickets - nearly three times the European average, alongside high business rates and limited planning protections, placing the sector at a growing competitive disadvantage.

The full report can be found on the NTIA website.

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