UK Music calls for government action as new report reveals pandemic has lost industry one-third of its jobs
Report states that 69,000 jobs have been wiped out by the pandemic
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Your support makes all the difference.UK Music, the organisation that serves as a collective voice of the nation’s music industry, has documented the ruinous impact of the pandemic in its annual report.
In the newly published This Is Music 2021 report, it is stated that 69,000 jobs have been wiped out due to Covid, representing a third of the total industry workforce.
UK Music has called on the government to help reconstruct the sector after the pandemic.
Proposed measures include the introduction of new tax incentives and other employment-boosting initiatives.
The report also calls for urgent action to be taken in order to resolve the problems musicians and crew face touring the EU following the UK’s departure from the union.
Such measures are included in the Music Industry Strategic Recovery Plan, which is featured as part of the new report.
Among the report’s other findings were that employment in the music industry dropped from 197,000 in 2019 to just 128,000 in 2020, representing a drop of 35 per cent.
The economic contribution of the music industry fell by 46 per cent in that same time frame, dropping from £5.8bn to £3.1bn.
Furthermore, exports dropped from £2.9bn in 2019 to £2.3bn in 2020, a decline of 23 per cent.
UK Music’s chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: “The past 18 months have been exceptionally challenging for the UK music industry, with billions wiped off the value of the sector – but we are determined to look to the future and focus on recovery.
“Music matters to us all. And in a year when we’ve seen just how important music is to all our lives, it’s more important than ever that we take the necessary steps to protect, strengthen and grow the industry.
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He added: “Music is a key national asset, part of our history and our heritage. More than that, it’s part of our future. And we can’t value it highly enough.”
The full report and its findings can be accessed here.
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