UK Music has welcomed the Government’s announcement of a £150 million deal for the creative industries.
The deal, which forms part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, sets out a number of initiatives that are intended to boost growth and productivity in the music industry and other creative sectors.
The funding was announced by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Facebook’s Nicola Mendelsohn, who is Creative Industries Council co-chair.
During its meetings with ministers and officials, UK Music said it had “pressed the Government to safeguard the interests of the world-leading music business and pushed hard to secure commitments on intellectual property and other key areas.”
The music industry contributes £4.4 billion to the UK economy.
Measures announced by the Government include work on closing the value gap at the European and domestic levels, developing codes of practice aimed at improving cooperative measures to reduce online infringement and a £2m Get It Right copyright campaigns.
Further initiatives include a £20m Cultural Development Fund, the creation of an industry and government Trade and Investment Board targeting a 50% increase in creative industries exports by 2023, development of the next generation of creatives alongside more clusters of world-class creative industries to narrow the gap between London/South East and other regions.
UK Music CEO Michael Dugher said: “For more than a year, UK Music has worked intensively with the Government and the Creative Industries Council to get the best possible deal for the music industry. I’m delighted that the Government has listened and delivered a deal which should pave the way for the UK music industry to continue its world-beating success story.
“We welcome the commitment to strengthen the talent pipeline to address current and future skills needs, as well ensuring the industry is more representative of UK society. The creative industries sector deal provides a fantastic opportunity to boost the competitiveness of our industry, which contributes £4.4 billion to the UK economy, generates exports of £2.5 billion and employs over 140,000 people.”
Geoff Taylor, chief executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said: "This Industrial Strategy deal demonstrates that Government is now taking a strategic approach towards the creative industries as a key driver of economic growth. There will be opportunities for the music sector in new funding for VR/AR content, the creative careers programme, the Cultural Development Fund and improved access to finance. But the key new elements for music are the commitment to resolve the value gap and to require online intermediaries to play a more active role in tackling copyright infringement, through the establishment of new roundtables leading to anti-piracy Codes of Practice for social media platforms, online advertising networks and online marketplaces. It is also good news that Government has pledged £2m in additional funding for the Get it Right campaign, to encourage consumers to use genuine sites to discover and access content."
He added: “Government has understood that all creative businesses can grow faster if they can generate a better return from the investments they make in creating new IP."
Dugher said: “We hope the measures can be used to support other key aspects of the music industry’s infrastructure, such as venues, studios or rehearsal spaces.
“It is vital that we now build on the opportunity of a sector deal and that Government continues to work with the music industry to develop further measures to support talent development and a diverse workforce so our globally successful sector can continue to grow.”
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