The Creative Content Exchange is a proof of concept pilot, funded by UKRI’s Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme. Governance structures, ownership and operating model will be considered at a later stage should the CCE proceed beyond the pilot phase.

The Creative Content Exchange is currently in a pilot phase so the exact terms on which content is made available, including pricing and the terms of use for licensed content, are still to be determined. The expectation is that content owners will be able to set their own pricing and control of the specific use-cases of licensing.

During the pilot phase the CCE is focused on creative content held by large cultural institutions. Government is committed to ensuring that the specific circumstances and requirements of independent creators and small creative businesses are represented. In particular, the 18th March 2026 Statement on Copyright and AI Progress announced a working group on independent and smaller creative organisations to explore whether there is a role for government to support their ability to license their content.

The Government recognises that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help right holders enforce their rights.

The Government published a report and impact assessment on AI and copyright on 18 March. It outlines the views it has received on input transparency following its consultation and commits to work with industry and experts to develop best practice.

Section 135 required the Secretary of State to prepare and publish an assessment of the economic impact in the United Kingdom of each of the four policy options that were consulted on in relation to copyright law and the training of artificial intelligence models using copyright works. The impact assessment published on 18 March assessed the potential impact of each of those four options.

This Government is determined to protect the UK’s position as a world-leading creative powerhouse and unlock the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve British lives. In March, we published a report and impact assessment, fulfilling the commitments made in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The Government proposed a programme of further work to consider ways of enforcing requirements and restrictions relating to the use of copyright works to develop AI systems. This work will include considering the likely effect of any proposals that are made on copyright owners, developers and users who are individuals, SMEs and micro businesses (including individual creators) with fewer resources.

We will not introduce reforms to copyright law until we are confident that they will meet our objectives for the economy and UK citizens. This means protecting the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse, while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve lives.

On 18 March, we published our impact assessment on copyright and AI. This emphasised the limited and uncertain evidence on the impact of copyright on the development and deployment of AI in the UK. We have committed to address the evidence gaps and review our approach considering wider market and international developments.

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid, fundraising income and other income at national museums and galleries, alongside trend analysis of those figures. This analysis includes adjustments for inflation. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid, fundraising income and other income at national museums and galleries, alongside trend analysis of those figures. This analysis includes adjustments for inflation. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

DCMS monitors the overall financial sustainability of the national museums but we have not undertaken an assessment of these specific issues. All national museums have provided free public access to their permanent collections since 2001. National museums are operationally independent of government, with decisions about opening hours, exhibitions, and educational and outreach programming the responsibility of each body’s board of trustees.

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid and fundraising income alongside trend analysis of those figures. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

The Government continues to support national museums in their efforts to diversify their income streams. This has included providing these bodies with additional ‘freedoms’ including the ability to maintain, invest and spend reserves of self-generated income. Alongside public funding, commercial income is an important factor which supports the museums to fulfil their statutory and charitable purposes.

We have not made a specific comparison to institutions in the countries specified.

The national museums and galleries are operationally independent and therefore decisions about allocating budgets are made by individual museums.

The Government has significantly increased its investment in national museum and gallery estates since 2014/15. This includes the recent commitment to invest £600 million over the course of this Parliament to tackle urgent maintenance backlogs and essential estate works at national museums and galleries, the British Library and British Film Institute.

Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.

On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.

Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.

On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.

The UK’s world-class network of recording studios is a cornerstone of our status as the global third-largest recorded music market and second-largest exporter. These facilities are not only commercial hubs but essential incubators for our national talent pipeline. The creative industries, including music, have been identified as a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy and in June 2025 we published a Creative Industries Sector Plan setting out our ambition to maximise the value and impact of our creative businesses.

No specific analysis of International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) registration data has been undertaken to identify shifts in recording activity from the UK to overseas facilities.

However, we continue to work closely with industry stakeholders, including UK Music and the Music Producers Guild, to understand the size of the UK’s commercial recording studio sector and the specific challenges faced by businesses. We also engage with Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to provide a wider context of recorded music trends and developments within the global music market.

The Government is investing £30 million into a new Music Growth Package, launching in 2026, which will support music infrastructure, including recording studios, and ensure the UK music sector remains globally competitive.

No such estimates have been made. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect ratepayers against large overnight increases in bills.

Recording studios are a vital part of the infrastructure of the music industry. The Government is doubling funding for the Music Growth Package, which will support the music ecosystem across both live and electronic music – from grassroots venues, festivals, recording and rehearsal studios to artists, songwriters, independent labels, managers, and promoters working in all genres of music.

The Government will continue to engage closely with the sector to understand ongoing pressures and ensure the UK remains a globally competitive place to create, record and produce music.

No such estimates have been made. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect ratepayers against large overnight increases in bills.

Recording studios are a vital part of the infrastructure of the music industry. The Government is doubling funding for the Music Growth Package, which will support the music ecosystem across both live and electronic music – from grassroots venues, festivals, recording and rehearsal studios to artists, songwriters, independent labels, managers, and promoters working in all genres of music.

The Government will continue to engage closely with the sector to understand ongoing pressures and ensure the UK remains a globally competitive place to create, record and produce music.

The Valuation Office are working with the sector to ensure that recording studios are categorised as such. They publish an annual stock of properties which can be sorted by their Special Category (SCat) here: Non-domestic rating: stock of properties collection - GOV.UK. Recording studios can be found under SCat code 232. The total number of recording studios in England and Wales for the last ten years are:

2025 - 410

2024 - 410

2023 - 420

2022 - 420

2021 - 410

2020 - 400

2019 - 410

2018 - 400

2017 - 390

2016 - 390

The UK’s network of recording studios are central to our position as the world’s third-largest recorded music market and second-biggest exporter of music, and they play a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of our talent pipeline. The creative industries, and music within that, are a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

We have worked with industry to make revisions to the ONS's proposed SIC 2026 framework, and once in place, future economic estimates will be available for both music publishing and sound recording separately.

At the 2025 Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values that will take effect from 1 April 2026. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values (RVs) for some properties.  In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on business rates bills, the government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. Over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Many recording studios are also likely to benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. Tapered support is available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it will retain SBRR  on the first property for 3 years, up from 12 months previously.

The Government is investing £30m into a new Music Growth Package, launching in 2026, which will support music infrastructure, including recording studios, and ensure the UK music sector remains globally competitive. This enables the grassroots music sector, including recording studios, to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams and make repairs and improvements.

We are continuing to engage closely with industry stakeholders, including UK Music and the Music Producers Guild, to strengthen our understanding of the specific challenges the sector faces in relation to business rates, alongside the broader pressures on businesses arising from rising operating costs.

The UK’s network of recording studios are central to our position as the world’s third-largest recorded music market and second-biggest exporter of music, and they play a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of our talent pipeline. The creative industries, and music within that, are a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

We have worked with industry to make revisions to the ONS's proposed SIC 2026 framework, and once in place, future economic estimates will be available for both music publishing and sound recording separately.

At the 2025 Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values that will take effect from 1 April 2026. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values (RVs) for some properties.  In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on business rates bills, the government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. Over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Many recording studios are also likely to benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. Tapered support is available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it will retain SBRR  on the first property for 3 years, up from 12 months previously.

The Government is investing £30m into a new Music Growth Package, launching in 2026, which will support music infrastructure, including recording studios, and ensure the UK music sector remains globally competitive. This enables the grassroots music sector, including recording studios, to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams and make repairs and improvements.

We are continuing to engage closely with industry stakeholders, including UK Music and the Music Producers Guild, to strengthen our understanding of the specific challenges the sector faces in relation to business rates, alongside the broader pressures on businesses arising from rising operating costs.