United Kingdom

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Unions and experts are increasingly warning that many are struggling to make a living in the arts sector due to low pay, patchy work and the high cost of living.

One potential solution now being looked into in Scotland is for the government to pay artists directly - a so-called basic income for the arts.

The idea comes from Ireland, where a no-strings-attached scheme paying 1,300 euro per month (about £1,134) to some musicians and artists was recently made permanent.

Leading Scottish artists and music industry figures - including the national poet and the head of Celtic Connections festival - are calling on the Scottish government to introduce a similar scheme or risk a cultural "desert".

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson told the BBC he's "looking into it".

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Ireland introduced the 'Basic Income for the Arts' pilot scheme in the aftermath of Covid-19 in 2022.

The trial saw 2,000 individual artists - musicians, painters, comedians, poets and others - drawn from a lottery system to take part in the experimental arts funding scheme.

Brían Ó Súilleabháin quit his day job in a wine and spirits shop when he found out he was one of the lucky 2,000, now able to take a risk on acting work.

"It was life-changing," the actor, 29, says.

"Without the Basic Income, I would have had to go back to the day job, but because I had the Basic Income, I didn't have to do that.

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