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LONDON – British music industry lobby group UK Music said on Monday that the core sector contributed $5.7 billion (£3.5 billion) to the British economy in 2012, including profits made and wages paid.
UK Music, which promotes the interests of record labels, songwriters, musicians, managers, publishers, producers, promoters and collecting societies, said the figure includes $2.6 billion (£1.6 billion) from musicians, composers and songwriters; $1.08 billion (£662 million) from live music; $1.04 billion (£634 million) from recorded music; and $657 million (£402 million) from music publishing.
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The organization put the value of music exports at $2.3 billion (£1.4 billion) and estimated that the music industry has 101,680 full-time jobs in the U.K. It said that such British stars as Adele and Emeli Sande enhance Britain’s brand and reputation abroad by an estimated $118 million (£72 million).
Said UK Music CEO Jo Dipple: “This shows for the very first time exactly how much music — in all its guises — contributes to the U.K. economy in terms of GVA, exports and employment. It shows that British music is a substantial contributor to the economy. Our music might be fun, but it is also a formidable asset to the U.K.”
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In the past, figures have mostly relied only on record industry data or on figures that lumped the music sector in with other parts of the creative industries. UK Music on Monday called them “flawed.”
Dipple added: “Government has said it wants to support the creative industries, but until now they have not had the precise data to hand.”
She concluded: “A realistic picture of the how the industry is made up will lead to a better understanding of what investment and regulatory environment is needed to help our industry thrive. It is a great U.K. success story, but now it can be even better understood and developed.”
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
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