Industry body UK Music has published its latest report, Measuring Music 2015, with the headline claim that music contributed £4.1bn to the UK economy in 2014.
That included a 17% rise in British music exports thanks to the global success of artists including Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, as well as a 17% rise in live revenues within the UK. The report tells a positive tale, noting 5% year-on-year growth for music’s “gross value added” contribution to the UK economy, with 117,000 full-time jobs within the music industry.
“The musicians, composers, songwriters and lyricists alone contributed £1.9bn to the economy,” claims the report. UK Music will use the findings, as before, to bolster its lobbying of politicians across a range of issues involving the industry.
Politicians are making the right noises: “UK Music’s Measuring Music is extremely useful in describing the economic impact of commercial music,” said culture secretary John Whittingdale, adding that he is about to kick off a round-table meeting to discuss the British music industry’s future growth. Such talk is familiar, of course: the key will be how the report spurs action.
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