UK Music has urged the Authorities to take motion to guard the music trade from an “financial storm” because it continues to recuperate from harm brought on by the coronavirus disaster.
The organisation, which represents the collective pursuits of the manufacturing aspect of the UK’s industrial music, mentioned the sector had skilled a “fragile restoration” because it revealed the trade was nonetheless considerably behind in some areas, together with employment, in contrast with earlier than the pandemic.
Bosses mentioned the annual report confirmed the pressing want for help from new Prime Minister Liz Truss to cut back the tax burden on the music trade, incentivise funding and assist increase exports.
The 2022 This Is Music report is predicated on knowledge collated from throughout the music trade in 2021.
Key findings embrace that the UK music trade’s contribution to the UK financial system in 2021 was £4 billion, up 26% on £3.1 billion in 2020, however nonetheless down 31% on the pre-Covid all-time excessive of £5.8 billion in 2019.
Likewise, employment within the music trade rose to 145,000 jobs in 2021, up 14% on 128,000 jobs in 2020, however down 26% on the pre-Covid document of 197,000 jobs in 2019.
Exports within the sector additionally rose in 2021 to £2.5 billion, up 10% on the £2.3 billion determine in 2020, however nonetheless down 15% on £2.9 billion in 2019.
Regardless of the continuing restoration, the report additionally highlighted British musical success tales from final yr.
In 2021 the largest promoting album on the earth was Adele’s highly-anticipated 30, with Ed Sheeran’s = the fourth best-selling, and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia in sixth place.
UK Music chief govt Jamie Njoku-Goodwin mentioned the music trade nonetheless faces a “main menace from robust financial headwinds”.
“The UK music trade is working arduous to recuperate after the catastrophic affect of Covid, however there may be nonetheless some solution to go to revive the roles and development misplaced in the course of the pandemic,” he mentioned.
“Our sector nonetheless faces a severe menace from the financial storm that would blow our fragile restoration astray with out pressing Authorities help.
(Liz Truss) ought to use the emergency finances to cut back the tax burden on the music trade, as an illustration by extending the vastly profitable inventive trade tax reliefs to the music tradeJamie Njoku-Goodwin
“It’s important that Authorities acts to guard and help a sector that creates jobs, contributes to the financial system and issues to hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout our nation.
“The brand new Prime Minister has mentioned she needs to chop taxes to stimulate development.
“If she is severe about this, then she ought to use the emergency finances to cut back the tax burden on the music trade, as an illustration by extending the vastly profitable inventive trade tax reliefs to the music trade.
“This may incentivise funding and increase exports of British music, that are in danger resulting from rising worldwide competitors and points following the UK’s exit from the European Union.”
Mr Njoku-Goodwin additionally highlighted the pressing motion wanted to help companies dealing with elevated power payments, in addition to additional steps to guard mental property rights for artists.
He mentioned proposals made beforehand to permit AI firms a copyright exception for textual content and knowledge mining have been “an existential menace to our sector and should be stopped”.
“As we confirmed earlier than the pandemic, the UK music trade could be world main,” he mentioned.
“However with out assist from new Prime Minister Liz Truss and her ministerial workforce, there may be the deeply worrying prospect that the billions spent supporting music companies and cultural establishments in the course of the lockdowns will likely be wasted.
“We can't enable that to occur.”