UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry, publishes its This Is Music 2022 annual report today, which reveals how the sector began to recover from the initial impact of the pandemic.
Unveiling the report, UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said the economic findings showed why the government should act to support the music industry, which still faces a “major threat from strong economic headwinds”.
The key findings in This Is Music - based on data collated from across the music industry in 2021 - include:
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The UK music industry’s contribution to the UK economy in 2021 was £4 billion – up 26% on the £3.1 billion figure for 2020, but still down 31% on the pre-covid all-time high of £5.8 billion in 2019.
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Employment in the music industry rose to 145,000 jobs in 2021 – up 14% on the 128,000 jobs in 2020, but still down 26% on the pre-covid record of 197,000 jobs in 2019.
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Exports in the sector rose in 2021 to £2.5 billion – up 10% on the £2.3 billion figure in 2020, but still down 15% on the £2.9 billion in 2019.