According to a new report by music industry trade body UK Music, over a third of jobs in the majority-self-employed music sector have been lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report revealed that jobs fell from 197,000 in 2019 to 128,000 in 2020, a drop of 35 per cent, while live music revenues fell 90 per cent.
COVID-19 devastated the UK’s music industry, forcing live events and venues to close for well over a year, with the majority of the UK’s music festivals cancelled for two consecutive years. This saw the sector’s overall contribution to the UK economy fall 46 per cent, from £5.8 billion in 2019 to just £3.1 billion last year.
UK Music’s report, “This Is Music 2021”, stated that around 69,000 jobs in the sector were lost and, with around three-quarters of music industry employees being self-employed, many were unable to secure help from the government during the pandemic.
UK Music stated: “The music creators and live music sectors experienced the greatest decline – the majority of those working in the industry are self-employed, and they have been hit especially hard by COVID-19.”
The report continued that a lack of funding “has resulted in thousands of music creators, crew and others leaving the industry for other sectors. Many are still committed to a career in music, but necessity has meant finding alternative sources of income.”
To help the sector recover, UK Music has urged the government to boost employment, introduce tax incentives and put in place measures to help alleviate the costs of touring in Europe post-Brexit. It has also called for increased funding for music exports, education and the self-employed, as well as a permanent VAT reduction for tickets and live events.
UK Music CEO 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.”
