Music industry has Government's ear
The Government has launched a new study to examine the financial barriers faced by the small and medium sized businesses that make up 90 per cent of the UK's music industry.
The study of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Music Industry will look at the financial problems they face when starting up or developing. The results of this work will inform future Government policies for providing business support to the large number of SMEs in the industry.
The month long study, which begins today (October 10), will:
- identify how SMEs in the music industry access finance;
- look into the extent to which businesses encounter problems in accessing finance, and the reasons why;
- estimate the extent to which this is proving to be a barrier to the growth of businesses; and
- identify any other barriers which prevent businesses growing.
There are several thousand SMEs in the music industry including independent record labels, music publishers, concert promoters and PR agencies. All these businesses are invited to take part in the study.
Music Minister James Purnell said: "Every company starts small before it gets big. We need to help them make that journey. Many SMEs in the music industry face difficulties getting finance to start up or to grow - we know the symptoms, now we must find the cause.
"This study will, for the first time, give us real, robust data which will help inform our future policies.
"It goes without saying - the small music businesses are vital, not only to the industry itself, but also to our culture and economy.
"The music industry contributes £5 billion each year to the UK's economy and employs 130,000 people. And without the independent record labels and publishers - who discover much of our new and successful talent - we would be starved of great British acts such as Franz Ferdinand or Bloc Party."
Alison Wenham, Chairman and CEO of Association of Independent Music (AIM) and Chair of the Small Business Group, said: "The Music Industry welcomes the DCMS productivity survey of small music companies. We believe it will provide invaluable knowledge into how small, creative companies operate, their specific business issues and how government and industry may be able to support this vibrant but fragile sector of the music industry. We look forward to working with the DCMS to establish a concrete agenda for growth."