Keir Starmer has spoken to NME about whether the music industry is a viable career path for new artists, as well as what can be done to protect grassroots venues, his stance on Palestine and young voters, why he spoke out on Kneecap, and more.
The Prime Minister was speaking from Milton Keynes yesterday (August 6), where he announced “a major expansion in youth services funding” to build on the Plan For Change initiative.
- READ MORE: UK grassroots venues suffering from “the complete collapse of touring” – here’s how you can help
As part of the move, £88million is being invested in youth clubs and schools to provide more extracurricular activities. It is hoped that this will encourage young people to get involved with music, the arts, sports and other “real-world opportunities” away from screens.
“[This] will have an impact in communities across the country, so young people can discover something new, find their spark and develop the confidence and life skills that no algorithm can teach,” Starmer explained.
But the expansion comes at a time of growing uncertainty and crisis within the music industry. Back in January, it was also reported that 70.6 per cent of independent UK acts had never toured, while 84 per cent of unsigned artists simply can’t afford to, and many earn less than the minimum wage. In May, Wolf Alice’s Joff Oddie warned of music becoming “a middle and upper class sport”.
With this glass ceiling in mind, does the PM believe music is a viable career path for those just starting out?
“Oh, it really is. And they need more support because music brings huge joy to those that are performing and to everyone that’s listening,” Starmer told NME. “It’s a major part of the lives of millions of people across the country – virtually everyone. It is also something which, in the UK, we’re really good at – almost at every level.
“It’s a great contribution to our economy – both locally and nationally – and we therefore need to do everything we can to support it.”
I know how difficult it is raising children in an online world.
Today we’ve announced a major expansion in youth services funding, to support youth clubs, after school activities and local organisations — connecting young people to their communities.
Our Plan for Change is…
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 6, 2025
He continued: “Today’s announcement was about the funding going into after-school activities and activities in the holidays. Here, we’ve just been at music lessons for young people in Milton Keynes. And that is giving children who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to play an instrument the possibility of a lifelong love of music in a different way. So I’m hugely passionate and [it is] important to me personally, and to the government.”
The pipeline of fresh talent is also under threat because of UK grassroots venues suffering from “the complete collapse of touring” and the risk of permanent closure. 2023 proved to be “disastrous”, with 125 such spaces shutting their doors. This January, the industry demanded “action not words” amid the UK losing one grassroots music venue every two weeks. This came as 200 others remained in a state of emergency.
NME asked the Prime Minister about the £1 ticket levy to help support the survival of grassroots music venues – which has been implemented on major live tours by the likes of Coldplay, Katy Perry, Sam Fender and Mumford & Sons.
“I’m very supportive of this initiative, the £1 levy going back into grassroots [venues], because so much of our music is grassroots,” Starmer responded, after the government backed a levy on shows at arena level and above last year.
He acknowledged that smaller, independent establishments are “where a lot of people access their music”, adding: “It’s obviously where a lot of musicians start off, and therefore I’m hugely supportive of it. I’d like to see it expanded even more, but I want to support it in any way we can.”
In the spring, it was reported that UK tour ticket contributions had raised £500,000 for grassroots spaces. London’s Royal Albert Hall has since become the first arena to commit to the £1 ticket levy, before Oasis’ huge Live ’25 residency at Manchester’s Heaton Park brought in £250,000 for local venues.
When asked what more could be done to help, the PM replied: “We need to support venues – large and small – across the country. I’ll be looking at what we can do in order to give them the chance not just to survive, but to thrive. There are so many different types of venues in different places where artists have performed for the first time, and go on to do amazing things.
“But also it’s where young people in particular access their first live gig. It’s likely to be the one nearest where they live – then that gives them an appetite to go to see more and more live music. We need more live music and we need to support it.”
Starmer recently weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kneecap, stemming from their defiant pro-Palestinian comments at Coachella in April, and the subsequent terror charge against member Mo Chara. The rapper is due to appear in court again on August 20, relating to footage of him allegedly shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage. He was granted unconditional bail at an initial hearing in June.
A separate video of Kneecap that was investigated by counter-terrorism police purportedly showed them calling for the death of Tory MPs. However, the group will face no further legal action for their alleged remarks in this clip.
The PM was among the politicians who called for the Irish rap trio to be removed from the line-up for this year’s Glastonbury Festival. NME asked Starmer why he felt the need to speak out. “Kneecap shouldn’t be performing at Glastonbury, and I don’t support inciting violence as free speech,” he said.
“I think it’s important that we distinguish the issues we all care about and should be spoken about freely on the one hand, and then the incitement to violence on the other. They’re two different things.”
Kneecap responded to the Prime Minister’s initial call for them to be axed from Glasto ’25, writing: “You know what’s ‘not appropriate’ Keir?! Arming a fucking genocide.” Later, they hit out at the PM during their performance on the West Holts stage: “The Prime Minister of your country said he didn’t want us to play, so fuck Keir Starmer.” The band have since led similar onstage chants against the PM.
Additionally, the trio have shown their support for the Palestine Action group, which the UK government is looking to proscribe as a terrorist group.
They have defended their “satirical” live sets, arguing: “It’s not our job to tell people what’s a joke and what’s not.” Kneecap subsequently claimed that the government and their critics “want to make us seem small”. They’ve also denied accusations of anti-Semitism and inciting violence, claiming that “those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter”.
Young people and new acts are largely sympathetic towards Palestine, with over 100 artists pledging their support for the right to freedom of expression for musicians. Does Starmer recognise the importance of rising talent using their platform to speak out?
“There’s a huge difference between speaking out about what’s happening in parts of the world,” he told NME. “All of us are concerned by what we’re seeing in Gaza – whether that’s the continued detention of hostages or the intolerable lack of aid that we’re seeing, starvation… everybody should be able to speak out about that.” (Starmer announced last week that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel met certain conditions, such as agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza, per BBC News.)
The PM then touched on whether potential new young Labour voters should be concerned about their right to protest, after it was confirmed last month that the UK voting age is to be lowered to 16.
“The right to protest is really important, and we protect it fiercely,” he told us. “We’re a country that’s had free speech longer than practically any other country. We’ve had freedom of protest for a very, very long time. And I’m a big champion of peaceful protest – I think it’s an important part of our democracy.”
NME also asked Starmer about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the music business. Elton John, Coldplay, Dua Lipa and many more have called on the UK government to change copyright laws to combat the tech as it progresses rapidly. The ‘Rocket Man’ icon claimed AI would “dilute and threaten young artists’ earnings”, while backing criticism from Paul McCartney.
When pressed on what the government is going to do to protect real human creativity and careers, the PM told us: “I mean, it’s very important we protect creativity, and we’re brilliant at creativity in this country – we punch well above our weight within the country and globally, and we’re all very proud of that.
“We need to get the balance right. That’s why we did a long and important consultation, and we’re going through the responses of that consultation now. So it is a question of getting the balance right.
“But I’m acutely aware of the need to protect creativity in the United Kingdom. We’re very, very good at it, and we should be proud of it and protect it.”
The interview with NME comes after the government launched a fan-led review of live music in a bid to secure the industry’s future this summer. It then announced “the best deal in the world” to boost the earnings of budding songwriters; however, the industry has argued that “much more still needs to be done”.
