Writing this report has not been easy. The world has been gripped by a global pandemic, the like of which has not been experienced for over a century. Music By Numbers 2020 considers the music industry in 2019, which for the UK was the best year on record. 2020, in contrast, is probably the worst. Let’s start with the numbers.
In 2019, the UK music industry contributed £5.8 billion to the UK economy, an 11% increase from £5.2 billion in 2018, marking a new high following a decade of sustained growth that has outperformed the UK economy. It generated £2.9 billion in exports, an 9% increase from £2.7 billion in 2018. Employment rose by 3% to 197,168 in 2019 from 190,935 in 2018. Live music was particularly strong, but all sectors contributed significantly to the music industry’s growth in gross value added (GVA) in 2019.
The UK has successfully exported music for decades and exports contributed very significantly in 2019. This success, however, is not a given. Streaming platforms make access to the global music market more accessible and therefore more competitive.
In 2020, the industry has been dealt a hammer blow by COVID-19. The music industry is interconnected and this has produced a domino effect as COVID-19 and the restrictions connected to the pandemic have taken hold. The absence of live music and touring deprives performers (and their representatives), venues and promoters of income. Songwriters and music publishers also lose live performance income. The closure of shops, bars and nightclubs deprives performers, writers, labels and publishers of public performance income. Record label release schedules are impacted by an inability to move around to create and promote new material, which is especially challenging for new artists launching their careers. Recording studios carry a heavy burden of costly overheads combined with a devastating drop in income, with many facing an uncertain future. It is not yet clear how long the impact of COVID-19 will last.
Alongside gathering data on 2019, I tried to monitor where possible the impact of COVID-19 during 2020. I concluded that up to 85% of Live revenue will be lost, revenues have been close to zero since March. Moreover, according to a UK Music survey 65% of music creators’ income will be lost this year, rising to over 80% for those most dependent on live performance and recording studio work. For these performers, many have seen their income reduce to zero since March.
Most music creators are self-employed. The industry relies very heavily on freelancers and the self-employed, many of whom have fallen through the cracks during 2020, not qualifying for the support that has been made available.
The UK music industry is a commercially successful sector that was growing before the pandemic, and can grow again. Music has always been a British success story and a national asset, that delivers at home and abroad. There is no reason why that cannot continue, but that future depends on us saving the music ecosystem that we have and supporting individual music creators and freelancers especially during this critical period.
Click here to read the report.
