It has been reported today (18/11/2020) that the music industry is on course to talk a massive hit due to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. It has been reported in the UK Music organisation November annual report that the sector is in dire trouble as it sees its income drop by just shy of half from what it was seeing last year. This hit will affect a massive amount of aspects, from the pay of musicians and licensing for venues, to merchandising and music sales.
UK Music, which is the umbrella organisation that represents all aspects of the music industry from artists and record labels to the live music sector, has reported the hit to the industry. Last year it reported an estimated worth of £5.8 billion towards the UK economy, a growth of 11% from the year before. In its November annual check, it’s likely to plummet to £3 billion net worth. “UK Music measures the industry’s contribution as gross value added, or GVA, which also includes British music exported overseas, such as tours.”
.@UK_Music made the plea as it published its annual ‘Music By Numbers’ report today https://t.co/bEkFG043zF
— NME (@NME) November 18, 2020
The chief executive of UK Music Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has said the pandemic has delt a “catastrophic blow” to the music industry. It’s estimated that tens of thousands of musicians of the over 200,000 musicians employed in the industry will be at risk of losing their jobs as the pandemic continues to spread and damage us as second waves are hitting the world as we race to get a vaccine ready and disrupted to everyone.
Its key to understand that the music industry isn’t just a job, income, or work place for many people. the industry is responsible for a lot of income for the country. “Our music industry is a key national asset,” said Njoku-Goodwin. “As this report shows, it contributes £5.8bn a year to the economy, generates £2.9bn in exports and supports almost 200,000 jobs. The UK music industry was a vibrant, fast-growing and commercially successful sector before the pandemic hit.”
following on from the ghastly news from the industry UK Music has also found that musicians will likely lose up to 65% of their annual income. Even with the SEISS (Self-Employed Income Support Scheme) aiding a number of the music industry it doesn’t even come close to the amount that would be normally earned in a year for many musicians as it hits less than that of the furlough support scheme for normal workers in regular jobs.
It is sad to see that one of the hardest industries will be our music industry. What was a record high last year which saw the industry grow leaps and bounds with an increase of a record £1.3 billion has now seen such a terrible turnaround. It was predicted that this year was going to follow on and grow like last year however it’s now reported: “a slump of as much as 85%, with live music’s GVA expected to plummet to about £300m as touring halts and social distancing keeps most venues shut.”
