UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has written to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, urging him to offer a lifeline to the music industry as it struggles to recover from the impact of the covid pandemic.
Proposed measures include the easing of the tax burden on music businesses by reducing business rates on live music venues and studios, creating a new tax relief for the music industry, cutting VAT on live events to 5% and setting up a new specialist office to drive British music exports.
According to UK Music’s latest figures, the UK music industry contributed around £4 billion to the UK economy in 2021, down from its pre-Covid record high of £5.8 billion. The sector supports 145,000 jobs and saw exports grow 10% last year to £2.5 billion. UK Music’s eight-point plan seeks to ensure the sector ‘retains its competitive edge and continues to grow’ with the right government support.
Njoku-Goodwin said that the global music market is highly competitive, and the sector needs the support of the government to remain a world leader and ensure that its contribution to the UK economy reaches new heights. He added that without the right support, there is a real threat to the talent pipeline, which the music industry relies on for the next generation of future stars.
UK Music is the umbrella organisation that represents all sectors of the music industry, including AIM, BPI, FAC, The Ivors Academy, MMF, MPA, MPG, MU, PPL, and PRS for Music.
