(Credits: Far Out)
A new report has revealed that the music industry contributed £8 billion to the UK economy in 2024.
The report, titled This Is Music 2025, comes courtesy of UK Music, which describes itself as “the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry”.
Key findings from the new report include the UK music’s contribution to the UK economy in 2024 hit a record total of £8 billion, in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), which is a five per cent increase from the £7.6 billion figure in 2023.
Additionally, UK music exports revenue reached a new high of £4.8 billion in 2024, which is also five per cent up from £4.6 billion in 2023.
Another area for celebration is job creation, with total UK music industry employment in 2024 growing from 216,000 to 220,000.
Although Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper MP has said the music industry is “one of our greatest international success stories” following the report, it did also highlight many potential threats to the landscape of the business.
While revenues are at a new high, the report did note that the rate of growth has shrunken compared to recent years, which it puts down to “a weaker touring schedule and a lack of big selling releases by British artists in 2024 also contributed to the slowdown.”
90 per cent of participants in a survey of music creators for the report agreed that measures “should be in place to stop their work being used without permission or payment” by artificial intelligence.
It was also noted that “it is taking longer for artists to reach a breakthrough moment”, which it says is an international issue rather than exclusive to the UK market.
Other causes for concern picked up in the report include the closure of grassroots venues across the country, and the detrimental impact of Brexit in regards to artists being able to tour Europe.
UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said of the findings: “In recent years UK Music has reported that the music industry has enjoyed double-digit annual growth. That growth has now halved indicates a levelling off of the immediate post-pandemic boost that we experienced, as well as other underlying issues set out in this report.”
Kiehl also stressed, “This points to the need for urgent action. If problems are not addressed then future growth cannot be guaranteed.”
He then praised the Government’s £30 million Music Growth Package, saying it is “vital that these much-needed funds are channelled to boost this cycle, as well as targeting other key issues” before naming “artificial intelligence and unlocking EU touring” as the two main areas that need to be tackled.
Kiehl concluded, “This is a pivotal moment for the UK music industry, let’s come together to make sure we realise our full potential.”
The report is available to view in full here.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source faroutmagazine.co.uk ’
