44% of performing arts freelancers earned less than the national living wage in the 2023-24 financial year, compared to 34% the year before in what is being termed a “crisis of low pay” in freelancing, according to a new survey.
The proportion of those earning less than the living wage was higher for women (47%), people from Black (46%) and Asian (49%) ethnic backgrounds, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (54%) and those with disabilities (55%).
The Big Freelancer Survey (BFS) Report 2025, published today (24 July) by Freelancers Make Theatre Work (FMTW) is the fifth and final instalment of annual studies borne out of Covid, when freelance work was disproportionately negatively affected.
The BFS provides annual detailed analysis about issues facing the performing arts freelance workforce by surveying those in the sector.
The underlying reasons for the crisis of low pay in this year’s report were cited as high levels of unpaid working hours and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
32% said over half the hours they worked in the sector were unpaid, which the report noted represented “an enormous level of pay inequality” since freelance income is typically required to cover sick pay, holiday pay and other benefits.
“I think it’s impossible to put into words the emotional strain of being a freelancer,” one anonymous freelancer said in the report.
“Overworking, concerns about money, anxiety about pensions and timetabling issues when also juggling caring responsibilities are constant,” they continued.
A quarter of those surveyed said their work-related expenses had increased over the last year, while only 30% said their income had increased, with 40% saying their income had decreased.
The issue of low pay has been “compounded by a funding crisis across the sector, with squeezed organisational budgets being used to justify criminally low fees” alongside “a trend towards hiring fewer freelancers with a greater workload”.
One freelancer said “expectations to work longer hours make the hourly rate laughable” and holidays of longer than a few days aren’t “worth it” because of the workload to catch up on.
A ‘deeply concerning’ picture
The BFS noted the mental health crisis among the freelance workforce had continued, with 39% saying their mental health had worsened over the last year.
51% of respondents said incidents of workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination had not been followed up even when reported, and 70% reported feeling quite or very insecure about their careers, a number which has increased each year since the question was first asked in 2022.
Just 55% said they felt insecure about their freelance work in 2022 and 2023, rising to 65% in 2024.
Classical singer and FMTW volunteer Mimi Doulton said the data since 2020 “presents a clear – and deeply concerning – picture of the situation in which UK arts freelancers find themselves”.
“The performing arts in the UK cannot survive without a thriving freelance workforce. It is time now for government, unions and arts organisations to act on this data and make urgently needed, fundamental changes to the entire industry’s working relationship with freelancers,” she added.
A quarter of those surveyed said they were considering leaving the industry altogether or changing roles within it, due to reasons such as low pay, lack of work, mental health reasons and job insecurity.
One freelancer described being stuck in a “freelance cycle”, saying: “I keep trying to quit but then I get a tiny taste of the work I want to do, and it is really wonderful, and then it is too painful to quit.
“I continue in this cycle because I’m also desperate for security and want to live a life where I can have children and a life outside work and not exist in chronic anxiety. It feels like a toxic relationship where I should have quit ages ago.”
The recent Creative Industries sector plan included proposals for a creative freelance champion to advocate for freelancers, which Minister for Creative Industries and Arts Chris Bryant said was not a “fob off” but more work was needed to explore how they could “make it effective and proportionate to the work we need to do”.
He also said earlier this month that there should be fewer freelance workers in the creative industries and more people with “secure ideas” of their employment over the next 10 years.
The BFS has come up with key recommendations to address the issues, including working with government, industry and funding bodies to develop a funding model to guarantee fair pay and encouraging the arts councils to achieve a better understanding of freelance work models and financial needs.
The report also called for an industry code of conduct for treating freelancers fairly and introducing new mechanisms to allow freelancers to speak out about exploitative or harmful practices.
Source: Nearly half of performing arts freelancers earn less than the living wage, survey finds –
