Music Publishers Association

UK Music unveiled its Music By Numbers 2020 report today (Nov 18) as it called for urgent help to revive “our world-leading industry”.

Since 2013, UK Music – the collective voice of the music industry – has published an annual report which reveals the economic contribution of the UK music business to the British economy. The new figures in the Music By Numbers 2020 report are for the 12 months up to December 31 2019. They do not reflect the devastating impact of the Covid-19 just weeks later in early 2020.

British talent including Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Dua Lipa, George Ezra and Lewis Capaldi, Mabel and Dave were among the star names that helped the industry continue its growth in 2019. Despite the buoyant 2019 figures outlined in Music By Numbers, the industry now faces a marathon effort to get back on its feet as it strives to return to pre-Covid levels of success as swiftly as possible. 

Unveiling the report, UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said:

“2019 was a fantastic year for the UK music industry, and we were firmly on track to be one of the great British success stories of the coming decade.
“Music By Numbers 2020 shows just how successful our industry was before the catastrophic blow of Covid-19 knocked it down, and how important it is that we get it back on its feet.
“When the time comes to recover from this pandemic, our world-leading music industry can be a key part of our country’s post-Covid economic and cultural revival – but we need the right support to get us there.”

The key facts in Music By Numbers 2020 include:

• The UK music industry contributed £5.8 billion to the UK economy in 2019 – up 11% from £5.2 billion in 2018.
• Employment in the industry hit an all-time high of 197,168 in 2019 – an increase of 3% from 190,935 in 2018.
• The total export revenue of the music industry was £2.9 billion in 2019 – up 9% from £2.7 billion in 2018.
• In addition to the industry’s direct economic contribution, music tourism alone contributed £4.7 billion in terms of spending to the UK economy in 2019 – up 6% from £4.5 billion in 2018.

Read the report in full here.