British music biz contributed £5.2bn to the UK economy

By Emmanuel Legrand

 

The UK music industry contributed £5.2 billion ($6.71bn) to the British economy in 2018, according to the latest 'Music By Numbers 2019', published by cross-industry organisation UK Music. The report measures the health of the music business each year the by collating data from various partners about the industry’s contribution in goods and services, known as Gross Value Added (GVA), to the UK’s national income or Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

 

  “Our report reveals firm evidence that the British music industry is in great shape and continuing to lead the world," said UK Music CEO Michael Dugher. “The figures are hugely encouraging and show that, as well as enriching the lives of millions of people, music makes an incredible contribution to the UK’s economy."

 

  However, noted Dugher, "this is not a time for complacency. We face many challenges to ensure we keep our music industry vibrant, diverse and punching above its weight. We need to do more to protect grassroots venues by helping them combat soaring business rates. We need to nurture the talent pipeline, including by reversing the decline of music in education, so that children from every background have access to music."

 

The impact of Brexit

 

  He continued: "We need to make sure that creators get fair rewards for their content and are not ripped off by big tech. And we urgently need to ensure that the impact of Brexit doesn’t put in jeopardy the free movement of talent, just at the time when we should be looking outwards and backing the best of British talent right across the world." 

 

  Key facts from the report include:

> The Live Music sector made contribution of £1.1bn in 2018, up 10% from £991m in 2017 and employment in the Live Music sector rose by 7% to 30,529, up from 28,659 in 2017. 

> The Recorded Music sector contributed £568m in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy, which is a rise of 5% on £535 million in 2017. Label revenues rose 3% in 2018, representing the third year of consecutive growth.

> The total Export Revenue of the music industry was £2.7bn in 2018. The Recorded sector contributed £478m, an 8% increase on £452 million, and Publishing £618m.

> Employment in the industry hit an all-time high of 190,935 in 2018.

> Music tourism alone contributed £4.5bn spend to the UK economy in 2018, up 12% from 2017. Overseas visitors to UK shows and festivals surged by 10% from 810,000 in 2017 to 888,000 in 2018.  

 

 New methodology

 

  The report, produced in partnership with Oxford Economics, identifies five sectors: 

> Music Creators (musician, composer, songwriter, lyricist, singer, producer, engineer); Music Retail (retail of musical instruments, manufacture of musical instruments, digital music retail, physical music retail); 

> Recorded Music (recorded rights holders, record labels, physical manufacturing & distribution, digital distribution, recording studios); 

> Music Representatives (collective management organisations, music managers, music trade bodies, music accountants, music lawyers); 

> Music Publishing (publishing rights holders, publishing companies)

> Live Music (music festival organisers, music promoters, music agents, production services for live music, ticketing agents, concert venues and arenas).

 

  UK Music introduced a revised methodology this year, designed to give "a sharper and more detailed picture of the economic contribution and importance of the UK music industry." However it means that the direct, like-for-like comparisons with the data we collected in previous years are not possible to make.

 

  The report now includes music accountants and music lawyers in the sub-sector of music representatives. It also captured recording studio data and classified it under Recorded Music.