Music Industry Accountants

Accountants for artists, bands, songwriters, producers, managers, labels and publishers. Music income arrives from a dozen places, in different currencies, months or years after the work was done. TaxDigit builds the accounting around that reality rather than fighting it.

Royalties and rights income

• Performance and mechanical royalties — PRS for Music, PPL, MCPS and overseas collecting societies, reconciled to statements rather than to the bank line.
• Streaming and distribution — DSP income through a label or a distributor, and the difference between gross receipts and what actually reaches you.
• Sync and licensing — one-off fees, term deals and the VAT treatment of a licence granted to an overseas customer.
• Advances and recoupment — an advance is taxable income when it is received even though it is repayable out of future royalties. Planning for the tax on money you have already spent is the single most common problem we fix.
• Catalogue sales — the capital versus income question on selling rights, and the reliefs available on a disposal.

Touring and live

Touring is a business with a cash flow of its own. We produce tour accounts that a manager can act on: settlement sheets reconciled to promoter statements, per diems and buy-outs treated correctly for PAYE, crew engaged on the right basis, merchandise income and venue commissions, and the foreign tax withheld on each territory recovered or credited rather than written off.

• Withholding tax deducted abroad on live fees, and how to relieve it in the UK
• Non-resident artists performing in the UK — see non-resident entertainers tax
• VAT registration and recovery across territories, and the place of supply for live services
• Equipment, carnets and freight — where the deduction sits and where it does not

Structure: sole trader, partnership or limited company

A band is often a partnership whether or not anyone signed anything, which matters when someone leaves. Recording, publishing, touring and merchandise can sit in different entities for good commercial reasons. We advise on the structure that fits the deals actually on the table, and on the profit extraction that follows — salary, dividends, pension contributions and the timing of both.

Orchestras, ensembles and classical

Orchestras and ensembles can claim Orchestra Tax Relief at a permanent 45% on qualifying concert expenditure. If you produce concert series, that is a funding line, not a footnote — see theatre, orchestra and museum tax relief.

Labels, publishers and managers

• Royalty accounting systems and artist statements that stand up to an audit request
• Revenue recognition on advances paid out, and provisioning for unrecouped balances
• Commission accounting for managers, and the VAT position on commission from overseas artists
• R&D and creative reliefs where a business is building its own technology
• Company accounts, corporation tax and payroll for small labels and publishing companies

Everyday compliance, handled

Self Assessment and payments on account timed against irregular income, VAT registration and returns, bookkeeping reconciled to royalty statements, payroll for employed staff and crew, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax as it phases in for sole traders and landlords.

Music sits inside our media, entertainment and creative industries practice, alongside actors and entertainers, film and TV production and content creators.

Frequently asked questions

When is a record or publishing advance taxed?

Generally when it is received, even though it is recoupable against future royalties. That is why artists get caught out: the money is spent on making the record, but the tax on it falls due anyway. We set aside the right amount as it arrives and plan the payments on account around it.

How do I get back tax withheld overseas on live shows?

Foreign tax deducted at source on performance fees can usually be relieved in the UK, either as a credit against your UK tax on the same income or as a deduction, depending on the treaty and the facts. It needs the promoter documentation, which is why we ask for settlement sheets rather than just bank statements.

Should my band be a limited company?

Sometimes. A company can help where income is high, retained profits fund the next project, or a label or promoter prefers to contract with an entity. It adds cost and admin, and it does not suit an artist whose income all comes out for living costs. We model both before you decide.

Do we have a partnership even without an agreement?

Very possibly. If two or more people carry on a business in common with a view to profit, that is a partnership in law whether or not anything was signed. It matters most when a member leaves and there is a question about who owns the name, the recordings and the income. A written agreement is far cheaper than the alternative.

What can a musician claim as expenses?

Costs incurred wholly and exclusively for the business — instruments and equipment, repairs, session fees, studio hire, rehearsal space, travel to gigs, commissions to agents and managers, professional subscriptions, and a proportion of home and phone costs where the work is done there. Clothing and personal grooming are usually not allowable, however specific the outfit feels.

Can you claim Orchestra Tax Relief for our ensemble?

Yes — orchestras, ensembles, groups and bands producing qualifying concerts can claim at a permanent 45% rate, and the claim is built from the concert accounts. We handle these regularly.

Do you work with managers and labels as well as artists?

Yes. We act for managers on commission accounting and their own company affairs, and for independent labels and publishers on royalty accounting, artist statements and company compliance.