Scotland's Creative Sector
The creative industry is at the heart of Scottish culture.
From TV, film, theatre, comedy, gaming – Scotland is rich in talent and has a thriving cultural sector.
Scotland is home to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest performing arts festival in the world, with tens of thousands of performances across dance, theatre, comedy, opera and more every August. For TV & Film , Scotland has several studios and on-location filming for Netflix, Amazon, Starz, STV, BBC, Channel 4 and many independent producers.
Rockstar North, the makers of Grand Theft Auto – one of the biggest video game franchises ever - has their headquarters in Scotland, alongside many other games studios. And Scotland has a rich and varied theatre and live performance sector, from the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, theatres large and small and of course the many small clubs and venues playing home to comedy and variety performances across the mainland and islands of Scotland.
Every year, the culture sector contributes £5.7 billion into the Scottish economy.
However, those creatives who work in the sector are often faced with financial instability, irregular incomes and a reliance on second jobs out with the creative industry. This threatens the stability of the creative industry, and creates a barrier for those who want to be in the creative industry, but cannot financially afford to be.
Basic Income for Artists (BIA)
A Basic Income for Artists would be a regular payment for the successful number of applicants who work in the creative industry and are based in Scotland.
A society which gives the BIA to creatives will reap the benefits for the economy, its people and the arts:
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Increased dedicated time to the arts
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Removal of class privilege of those who can work in the arts
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Retaining talent in the sector
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Increased economic return
Implementing a pilot of a BIA in Scotland would allow it to be the leading nation in the UK for developing a fairer creative economy.
Success of Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts (BIA)
The Republic of Ireland has invested in its culture sector, and the workers in it.
In 2022, the Irish Government launched a pilot scheme of the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) to address the issues that precarious earnings and unstable working conditions in the industry brings.
2,000 artists were randomly selected from over 9,000 applicants. Throughout the three year pilot programme, each artist selected received €325 a week.
Research over the three year period confirmed that supporting creatives and artists financially, with the BIA, generated economic returns.
For every €1 invested by the Irish Government, €1.39 was returned to the economy.
The cost of the BIA programme’s net cost fell from €105 million to under €72 million due to tax revenue and reduced welfare use.
Ireland will adopt the BIA scheme permanently from this year (2026), due to the success.
Equity: Recommendations
Equity recommends that the new Scottish Government actively supports workers in the creative industries by piloting a Basic Income for Artists programme.
Equity recommends that MSPs and Scottish MPs engage with Equity and our members about the benefits the UBIA would bring to the arts in Scotland and wider economy.
Equity recommends that the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First framework must go further and have fundamental policies to support freelance workers in the creative industry.
Conclusion
A Basic Income for Artists would transform the industry socially by removing the financial barriers into the industry, and be economically viable for Scotland.
The BIA would allow iconic Scottish culture to thrive whilst adhering to the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First framework.
The Scottish Government must invest in its culture sector – like the Republic of Ireland has.
Scotland has the opportunity to be the leading nation in the UK for having the most fair and sustainable creative industry. We’re asking all Holyrood to back a pilot scheme of a Scottish BIA.