Leading Music Business Accountants

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Music Business Accountants
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Music Accountant

• Do you need an accountant if youre a musician?
  The answer, as boring as it may seem, really is
  yes. Whether youre performing with a national
  symphony, teaching music, playing in a wedding
  band, or aspiring to be the next Ed Sheeran or
  Katy Perry, our qualified accountants have years
  of expertise submitting musicians accounts to
  HMRC correctly while making sure you hold onto as
  much of your hard-earned money as possible.
• But the music industry is about more than just
  musicians. As a leading music accountant firm
  Pearl Lemon Accountants can help record labels,
  artist management companies, songwriters, music
  PR companies and more players in the music
  business get a grip on their finances and stay on
  the right side of HMRC.

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Tax Basics For Music Industry Professionals

• The taxmans taken all my dough was the famous
  lament of Ray Davies back in the Swinging
  Sixties, and, without the expert help and
  guidance of a music accountant, you could end up
  doing a cover, whether your musical stylings
  match The Kinks or not.

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Keeping Track of Music Related Tax Deductions

• Knowing what is and isnt an authorized expense
  is crucial to keeping bills under control when it
  comes to tax preparation for musicians. As
  specialist music accountants we know all the
  rules and regulations and we keep a close eye on
  all the changes of which there have been a lot
  since Brexit that might impact what you need to
  declare to HMRC and what you can claim back.
• HMRC normally considers your agents commission,
  as well as the cost of hiring a musician to join
  you on stage, to be permitted expenses. Another
  aspect of touring that is frequently ignored is
  hotel accommodations, as well as complimentary
  tickets to shows for publicity purposes.

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• We can also assist you with royalty revenue
  accounting, as well as deciphering accounts from
  record labels, publishers, and distributors to
  guarantee youre getting paid your full share and
  paying the appropriate tax on your earnings.
• Things can get even more complicated at tax time
  if you are one of the many musicians still
  working a day job while you work towards that
  big break.

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Outside the Box Tax Planning for Music Industry
Professionals

• Did you know that you may be eligible for
  research and development tax savings if you work
  in music production? This is well worth looking
  into if youre conducting unique research to
  solve an issue through technology and something
  that far too many in the music industry overlook.
• Not all music accountants have ever even thought
  about suggesting their clients look into RD, let
  alone actually helped them claim it. What is an R
  D credit? The government of the United Kingdom
  introduced RD tax exemption in the year 2000.

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• It is intended to inspire people to devote time
  and money in scientific and technological
  developments. The tax break is a reward for
  individuals who work towards these improvements
  in a variety of disciplines and specializations.
• The expectation is that by allowing these
  companies to recoup some of their RD costs, they
  would continue to invest in RD, benefiting not
  only their business but also their industry and
  the UK as a whole.
• Lots of the innovations that those in the music
  industry just often think of as cool and useful
  qualify, and if we, as your music business
  accountant, think something you are doing might
  do, well help you through the process of
  claiming this valuable tax credit and getting
  what you deserve.

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Record Label Accounting

• If youre running an indie record label by
  yourself or with a small team, youre probably
  filling multiple roles manager, agent, promoter,
  and so on. However, you most likely did not start
  your own label to be its accountant, which is
  where we can be a big help.
• Because as an indie label owner, youll be doing
  and overseeing a lot more than you might at a
  bigger label its all too easy to lose track of
  your business finances. While its
  understandable and sometimes even unavoidable
  to do so, it usually leads to all kinds of
  headaches if you do, including legal disputes
  with artists over compensation and awkward
  conversations with HMRC or worse that you
  certainly dont need.

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• Your record label has to keep track of royalties
  in order to have an accurate picture of how much
  money artists are making and to offer clear
  royalty statements. We can assist you in
  establishing a transparent and effective system
  in this regard to avoid disputes and keep
  everyone happy with what they are being paid.
• Well also assist you with the day-to-day
  operations of your record label, such as keeping
  track of your financial transactions with
  suppliers and filing tax reports, paying
  employees and more. We can even help you with
  those dreaded VAT accounts if you sell
  merchandise directly to the public.

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Tax Advice and Tax Planning for Music
Professionals

• Working in the music industry is rarely a
  nine-to-five, seven-day-a-week job. Income is
  unpredictably variable. Fortunately, our music
  accountant tax planning service for musicians is
  designed to smooth the transitions between months
  and years by utilizing tax advantages for
  creatives to spread out your tax bill.
• If youre an international musician recording,
  performing, or working in the UK, we can assist
  you in dealing with HMRCs Foreign Entertainers
  Unit (FEU), providing all the documents and
  advice youll need to have productive discussions
  with UK tax authorities.

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• This is one of the areas that has changed a lot
  since Brexit, and it takes a music accountant
  with their finger on the pulse of these changes
  to keep up. At Pearl Lemon Accountants we pride
  ourselves on our ability to stay up to date with
  the tax codes, even though the UK has the biggest
  one in the world.

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