British music industry worth £4bn to UK economy

Most of that revenue came from music exports, which were worth £2,2 billion over the course of the year following the overseas success of artists like Adele, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran.

The dominance of Britain in the global music market was such that one in six of all artist albums which were sold anywhere in the world in 2015 came from UK artists, while half of the year’s top selling albums were made by Britons.

The report found that while adapting to the new ways people are consuming their music has been a challenge for the UK industry, the growth of online music streaming over the past four years has in fact offset declines elsewhere in the market.

Streaming sites including Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal have provided a “significant boost” to the digital music market over the course of 2015, with paid services valued at £251m – a jump from the £168m registered in 2014.

UK Music Chief Executive, Jo Dipple said that the figures show the “strength and resilience of the British music market” over the past several years. 

“Distribution changes, trends may come and go, but all the while our music outperforms both in the UK and all over the globe,” she said.

“The UK needs to solidify its new post-Brexit place in the world and music will undoubtedly be part of the glue that does this.”

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley MP commented on the report, saying: “The extraordinary success of artists like Coldplay and Adele added billions to our economy.

“We want to maintain and build on that success. 

“The Government is working closely with industry bodies, such as UK Music, to make it easier for these artists to do business and is investing in music education to nurture the next wave of successful British artists, who we want to see perform across the whole world.” news.sky.com