Turn It Up music plan: what media and live-event businesses should review in their cover

The government’s new music plan is designed to support artists, venues, labels, publishers, grassroots projects and live performance opportunities. For media and live-event businesses, the practical point is that new work often brings new contracts, equipment, people and public-facing exposure.

Growth is positive. It can also change the insurance picture quickly. A videographer may move from studio work into live venues. A production business may take on festival content. A small music company may begin hiring equipment, using freelancers, running workshops or delivering work in public spaces.

Those changes can stretch an insurance programme that was arranged for a smaller or simpler business. The risk is not that the business is doing anything wrong. The risk is that the cover has not kept pace.

The Turn It Up plan references investment, skills, live events production and opportunities across the music sector. That makes this a useful moment for creative businesses to check how they are set up before new projects begin.

Media insurance works best when it reflects the real work. That includes what equipment is owned or hired, where it is used, who is responsible for it, what contracts require, and whether the public or performers are involved.

Where problems usually appear is in the gap between a creative brief and the paperwork behind it. The team focuses on the job. The insurance schedule still describes last year’s business.

 

Insurance implications

Media and live-event work can involve several cover areas at once. Equipment cover may be tested if cameras, audio kit, lighting, laptops, instruments or hired-in equipment are damaged or stolen. Liability cover may be tested if a member of the public, performer, client or venue alleges injury or damage.

Professional responsibility can also matter. If a business supplies content, production services, editing, streaming, sound, lighting, photography or campaign material, a client may allege financial loss if something is late, unusable or not delivered as agreed. Whether that is covered depends on the policy and the facts.

The contract is often the starting point. Venues, councils, agencies, labels and event organisers may ask for specific limits, indemnities or evidence of insurance. It is better to check those terms before signing than after a problem has happened.

 

It is worth reviewing:

• Whether owned and hired-in equipment values are up to date.
• Whether cover applies at venues, libraries, studios, festivals and in transit.
• Whether freelancers, crew and subcontractors are handled correctly.
• Whether public liability limits meet contract requirements.
• Whether professional indemnity or media liability is needed for the work delivered.
• Whether cancellation, postponement or non-appearance risks are relevant.
• Whether cyber exposure exists through ticketing, streaming, files or client data.
• Whether staff, volunteers or performers create people-risk questions.

 

For smaller creative businesses, one practical step is to list the next three types of work you expect to do. Then compare that list with the policy schedule. If the policy still describes only photography, but the business now shoots live events and stores client footage in the cloud, the conversation has moved on.

Cover depends on policy wording, values, locations and circumstances. The aim is not to insure every possibility. It is to make sure the cover reflects the business that actually turns up on site.

 

Speak To Ratcliffes

If your media, music or live-event work is changing, call Ratcliffes on 01242 544544 to review whether your Media Insurance still fits your contracts, equipment and working practices. We can help you spot where new projects may create equipment, liability or continuity questions.

 

Sources

• Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Government launches bold plan to ‘turn up’ the music industry, 13 July 2026.
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Turn It Up: Our plan for music, 13 July 2026.
• Arts Professional, Pop is getting posher says Nandy as government unveils new plan for music, 13 July 2026.
• Ratcliffes Insurance Brokers, Products page, accessed 14 July 2026.