Music By Numbers is the flagship annual economic study by UK Music and its members that shows the UK music industry continued to grow in 2019 across every sector before the Covid-enforced shutdown hit in early 2020.
The report measures the health of the music business by collating data about its contribution in goods and services to the economy. That economic contribution is known as Gross Value Added (GVA), to the UK’s national income (Gross Domestic Product/GDP). Exports are part of this contribution.
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.
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.
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.
