Music is a massive contributor in Britain with a new report showing billions added to the british economy from UK music.

UK Music have published their annual study on how the British music industry is performing. A massive year saw £6.7 billion contributed to the UK economy in 2022 in gross value.

Looking to pre-pandemic levels for an accurate gauge of improvement, UK music saw a significant rise on 2019. UK Music described it as the “best year ever” based on a variety of measure, including revenue figures. 2022 was of course an improvement on 2020 and 2021 thanks to COVID slowdowns.

They showed that the music industry employed 210,000 people in the UK in 2022. Exports of music topped a whopping $4 billion. However, it should be made clear that impressive revenues do not translate to a thriving time for musical artists and industry professionals in the UK.

UK Music write: “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.”

A lot of revenue is driven through high-income sources like major concerts and festivals. Then there are large revenue streams directed away from the artists towards executives at major labels.

Whilst the broadcast looks like a success overall the music industry is growing in many places around the globe. UK Music Interim CEO Tom Kiehl notes: “The Music industry and its exports have grown beyond doubt to hit new heights, which is fantastic news in terms of our sector’s contribution to jobs and the economy.”

He adds: “However, the competition for international markets is intensifying rapidly. The UK’s competitors are increasingly well funded and can often count far more support from their governments. South Korea, Australia, and Canada have invested heavily in music and cultural export offices to help grow their overseas markets.

“The UK has several successful export schemes, such as the Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund. However, we need far more support – otherwise we risk the UK being left behind in the global music race and that would be a bitter blow for the music industry and a missed opportunity to grow our export market.”