Music Boosts UK By £3.5B

The figure represents the gross value added to the UK’s GDP in 2012.

It covers all sectors including records, live, publishing and audio.

According to the research, recorded music was worth £634 million over the year, while musicians, composers, songwriters and lyricists generated £1.6 billion.

Live music generated £662 million, while music publishing created £402 million.

Music representatives, a category covering trade bodies, managers and collecting societies, generated £151 million.

Music producers, recording studios and staff generated £80 million.

In terms of export value, the industry contributed £1.4 billion to the economy, with music publishing leading the way on £509 million.

Recorded music contributed £305 million and live music £152 million.

“Music is one of the most investment-intensive industries in the economy,” was UK Music’s comment on the figures. “Record labels were integral to the development of the music industry and remain fundamental to the industry today – not least as they remain the largest investors in music talent – investing up to 20 percent of revenue in artists and repertoire.

“In 2012, labels and publishers invested more than £450 million in artist and repertoire. In addition, music collecting societies are investing significantly into repertoire databases and other data infrastructure to keep the UK’s competitive advantage in global digital markets.”