British museums are relieved. On April 2, the government excluded charitable memberships from the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act of 2024 (DMCCA), ending a feared legal provision. The law, designed to combat digital “subscription traps” like Netflix or Spotify, establishes a double right of withdrawal of fourteen days, after subscription then during automatic renewal after twelve months. Transposed to museums, such a mechanism creates a windfall effect for members and a financial loss for museums.
The Tate offers annual memberships for £99 (€115). The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) sells individual cards for 86 pounds sterling (100 euros). These packages offer unlimited access to the permanent collections and give free access to paid temporary exhibitions. It then became possible for the applicant to test the service for a few days, visit several major exhibitions, and then cancel the contract free of charge. The institution then had to reimburse the membership in full. Two exposures were enough to make the operation profitable. Tate calls the exemption “tremendous relief”. The V&A speaks of a threat “paralyzing” discarded.
The risk goes beyond just membership revenue. The Gift Aid system, a pillar of British cultural funding, adds 25 pence (0.29 euros) to each pound paid by a taxpayer. A Tate membership for 99 pounds thus generates an additional 24.75 pounds (29 euros). Relative to the institution’s approximately 400,000 members, the potential shortfall would reach nearly 12 million pounds per year (14 million euros). However, any withdrawal cancels this eligibility, exposing museums to a double loss, both commercial and fiscal.
Major museum institutions mobilized last summer. The Tate warned of the collapse of its memberships, the Victoria & Albert Museum spoke of a “paralysis” of its programs, and the Museum Association relayed these concerns to the public authorities.
The government therefore decided in their favor. Memberships fall outside the scope of the DMCCA and remain subject to the existing regime of consumer contracts, which only provides for a single initial right of withdrawal. The exemption covers access to collections and temporary exhibitions and extends to activities linked to the charitable mission of museums. An adjustment to Gift Aid has been announced, while the entry into force of the general subscription regime has been postponed until spring 2027.
