Last year, the music industry finally returned to growth, recovering from the pandemic and benefitting from underlying growth in recorded music and music publishing revenues. That is not to say that challenges do not remain, and, as is often the case, smaller grassroots music creators and industry players suffer the most. Investment in the

As the world reopened in 2022, it is worth discussing exports because 2022 was the first full year after the UK left the European Union. On the face of it, music exports are strong, but music creators at all levels, and especially at grassroots level, face challenges. This Is Music takes a look at this in more depth. There is also a case study from Glass Animals, a global success story that was a decade in the making.

Investment in education and talent pipeline are also key factors to future growth. Recording studios have faced soaring costs, including business rates, and this is explored in the report. Violinist David Grubb talks us through his career as a musician and artist and how he has benefitted from a strong educational foundation. This year’s report also introduces an emerging trends section, discussing where the market is going in 2023, and lawyer Cliff Fluet discusses the potential of artificial intelligence (AI).

To the numbers: the music industry contributed £6.7 billion to the UK economy during 2022 in terms of gross value added (GVA). Exports topped £4 billion, and employment stood at 210,000. 

Since UK Music published its first economic report in 2013, there have been many changes across the industry, such as the shift to streaming and the growth of festivals. Through conducting this work year after year, we have developed a much deeper understanding of the business dynamics behind the music industry and what that means in terms of economic value. Consequently, the original methodology that was devised over a decade ago needed updating.

Over the past year, UK Music has worked with our economic consultants, Oxford Economics, to undertake a comprehensive methodology review to ensure the processes behind this report reflect the evolution of the music industry, and the latest thinking and best practice.

This year’s report does not offer direct comparisons with previous years for GVA, exports and employment figures owing to the methodology review, which affects these three key metrics. However, in 2022 the UK music industry outperformed 2019 by a significant margin to produce its best year ever. We know this from assessing various contributing metrics, including revenue figures. Some revenue figures are included in this with report with year on-year comparisons as these were unaffected by our methodology review.

Live music and international touring returned during 2022, boosting GVA and exports. A combination of rescheduled shows from 2020 and 2021 and newly scheduled shows for 2022 made for a packed calendar. More live music fuelled music merchandise sales, and public performance revenues also rebounded.

Recorded and publishing-related revenues grew during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to grow in 2022. These sectors also contributed to the GVA and exports figures for 2022.

Employment has also rebounded and now sits at 210,000. The employment number is tempered by the fact there have been consolidations and redundancies in some areas, and some music creators and self-employed workers stepped away from the music industry during the pandemic.

While the headline figures for the UK music industry are good, there are a number of serious challenges across the industry. Small venues, independent festivals, recording studios, and music creators all face financial pressures at home in the UK and from the consequences of Brexit, particularly for touring artists and musicians.

Moreover, even where the industry has shown growth, such as in live performance and recorded music, questions remain about whether this growth can be sustained, and not everyone is experiencing the same level of growth.

This report highlights these issues and how they might be addressed, while celebrating the music industry’s economic successes. Thoughtful and targeted support in areas where help is needed will ensure that music continues to be a great British success story in the years to come.

Click here to read the report.

This Is Music was a difficult report to write this year because 2021 was a year of transition and mixed messages. The music industry began its recovery. Sort of. Live music reopened, then shut again, and this had a ripple effect on ancillary income that further disrupted the music industry, especially the music creators who lie at its heart.

For this year’s case study, I looked at Wolf Alice and the team around them. The band is well established in their career and better placed than most to weather the storm brought about by the pandemic. But even for a band at that level, it was not all plain sailing, and they had to adapt to changing circumstances. Please take a look.

As for the numbers, the music industry contributed £4 billion to the UK economy in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2021 – an increase of 26% on 2020. However, this was still 31% down on the £5.8 billion the industry contributed in 2019 pre-pandemic. That year, recording studios stayed open, however, they operated under strict COVID-19 protocols, and the continued enforcement of global travel restrictions meant that many international clients stayed away. 

Live music eventually returned, but not until mid-summer of 2021 and was disrupted again due to the Omicron variant. There were still many challenges, such as COVID-19 outbreaks

among artists and their road crews, which led to cancellations, and lower attendance at some live events, but the industry managed to make the most of the relatively short window to herald the return of live music. Even in the first quarter of 2022, many shows rescheduled, owing to the lingering impact of the Omicron variant.

Recorded and publishing-related income remained strong, with substantial increases in both streaming and vinyl revenues and a recovery in synchronisation (sync) income. Exports grew 10% to £2.5 billion but were still down 15% from 2019’s £2.9 billion. A lack of international touring, Brexit-related barriers, and a lack of music tourists visiting the UK have restricted export recovery. Nevertheless, recording and publishing export income continued to grow during 2021, even in the face of increased global competition. In a post-Brexit world, ensuring that trade agreements protect and support recording and publishing income for music creators and rights owners alike will be crucial to sustaining future growth.

Employment improved year-on-year, up 14% to 145,000 in 2021, but was still 26% lower than 197,000 in 2019. Music creators and live music workers experienced the greatest decline in employment and while both sectors are recovering, there is a long way to go. Those who could access government schemes, such as the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), were well placed to return to work once live music resumed at the end of July. Many industry organisations provided hardship funds to support those most vulnerable, but those who fell through the cracks either retired, retrained, or sought alternative employment in other sectors.

I believe that employment will recover further during 2023, but some individuals may have left the industry for good. There are skills shortages in some areas, for example, freelance crew and musicians, and a lack of access to a European workforce to plug the gaps for UK based events.

The recovery has begun, but there is still a long way to go. The British music industry cannot take anything for granted in rebuilding and ensuring that it retains its place as a leader in the global music market.

Click here to read the report.

The UK Music economic report is rebranded This Is Music for 2021. I have made a few changes to the format to better describe the story behind the numbers. This Is Music shows how economic value is created around the four commercial assets that form the foundation of the music industry. They are: musical composition, recording, live performance and the artist as brand and image.

By showing how all the sectors of the industry come together to build economic value around the four commercial assets, we can demonstrate a rich and realistic picture of how the industry functions in practice. These are the foundations on which GVA, exports and employment are built. This report focuses on the macro level picture, but digging a bit deeper, there are a range of back stories of vastly differing experiences and circumstances. 

For instance, a consistent pattern emerged whereby those least advantaged financially felt the greatest decline in incomes. This was true of creators, music managers and recording studios. In each case, the lowest earners experienced the greatest percentage income decline.

This was because some higher earning creators and their managers can look to royalty-based income to offset the decline in live income. Emerging artists, niche artists and musicians are far more reliant on live performance. In the case of recording studios, the bigger facilities were better able to adapt and accommodate social distancing, whereas smaller studios had less flexibility and some remained closed during 2020.

In 2020, the music industry contributed £3.1 billion to the UK economy – a 46% decrease from £5.8 billion in 2019. The impact of COVID-19 hit the live industry and recording studios especially hard, disrupting the lives of music creators including artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and engineers, many of whom were unable to work. The industry’s £3.1 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution in 2020 is well below the £3.5 billion contribution it made in 2012, the first year UK Music collected such data. For an industry that had recorded double-digit growth since then, this represents a huge loss.

The music industry is interconnected and the consequences of COVID-19 extend well beyond the live sector. The shutdown of live activity hit venues and promoters, resulted in fewer performing opportunities for artists and fewer commissions for composers and songwriters. Collecting societies PPL and PRS for Music saw a sharp decline in public performance income and broadcast income also fell as advertising spend declined, impacting labels, publishers, artists and songwriters.

The consumption of recorded music remained strong, with streaming income increasing and vinyl sales up on 2019, according to the BPI. While the transition from CD to streaming continued, vinyl continued to grow, up 31% on 2019.1 This success has been enhanced by impassioned and innovative marketing around Record Store Day, National Album Day and other initiatives across the year.

Exports fell to £2.3 billion, a 23% drop from £2.9 billion in 2019. The inability for artists to tour internationally was the greatest contributing factor to this decline. Studios were also heavily impacted by the loss of international artists coming to the UK to record. Publishing and recording exports performed well as the appetite for British music around the world remains strong, although it is possible there may be a knock-on impact in future years if some international markets experience a COVID-19 related decline. The impact of the new regulations, as a result of Brexit, is also an ongoing threat to future export performance.

The employment numbers, which have dropped dramatically, make for particularly stark reading. It is hard to say how many people will return to the industry and continued uncertainty will not help their prospects.

Employment fell to 128,000, a 35% drop from 197,000 in 2019. The Music Creators and Live Music sectors experienced the greatest decline – the majority of those working in the industry are self-employed, and they have been hit especially hard by COVID-19. While some were able to access government schemes, like the Self- Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), many were not eligible. This has resulted in thousands of music creators, crew and others leaving the industry for other sectors. Many are still committed to a career in music, but necessity has meant finding alternative sources of income.

For music creators, especially, the side hustle or day job, which is often an essential ingredient when starting out, has become a necessity again to support themselves while they continue to create music.

The industry that is built on and supports music creators is full of proudly entrepreneurial free marketeers, most of whom are unaccustomed to asking for government help. The industry is famously competitive, but it is also collaborative and that is often overlooked.

As Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn makes clear in his commentary, he and his fellow promoters have eased their competitiveness to work together and find solutions. We see this more broadly across the industry including various support schemes initiated by the likes of AIM, BPI, MMF, Help Musicians UK, the Musicians’ Union, PPL, PRS for Music and its charitable bodies, the PRS Members’ Fund and PRS Foundation, to help those most in need.

The music industry is down, but it is certainly not out. It is a people business fundamentally and its people are creative, resilient and determined. We shall rise again.

Click here to read the report.