In total, more than a third of UK music workers lost their jobs last year 69,000 as venues were closed, festivals were scrapped, tours were ground to a halt and the pandemic waswiped from the original $2,000 values.
UK Music, the umbrella organisation representing the live music industry from artists and record labels to the commercial music sector, said that the value of the industry almost fell last year due to the financially crippling impact of the Covid crisis.
The music industry's contribution to the wider UK economy, ranging from music sales and licensing to stadium tours, gigs in grassroots venues and merchandise, dropped from a record 5.8 bn to 3.1 billion in 2019.
With hundreds of festivals and live music events cancelled, and no insurance scheme in place to allow them to reschedule, there was a wave of job losses. As three-quarters of music industry workers were self-employed, many fell between the cracks in eligibility for government support schemes resulting in tens of thousands of workers having to seek new occupations to survive the pandemic.
As UK Music's annual report, This is Music 2021 estimates that employment in the sector plunged by 35% from an all-time high of 197,000 to 128,000 last year.
The past 18 months have been extremely challenging for the UK music industry, with billions of pounds erased from the value of the sector, but we are determined to look to the future and focus on recovery, said Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, chief executive of kilt music.
The hardest-hit sector was British live music scene whose revenues were reduced to just a few hundred million pounds by about 90%, while the value of UK music exported abroad, such as through international touring, slumped 23% to 2.3 bn.
Horace Trubridge, General Secretary of Musicians Union, said: The total loss of live work for over a year and the fact that the government has left so many out in the cold, has resulted in a huge loss of jobs and talent.
With the live industry now having to deal with the appalling impact of Brexit on artists mobility, it is time for this government to step in and provide realistic and effective support for an industry that was once the envy of the world and is struggling to survive. Art made by those who do not need to earn a living. A very niche perspective, a deeply arid sonic and lyrical landscape. There s a voice for everyone s voice, but to take away the ability to earn from sales, streams and then to take away the ability to tour? It means nobody can survive without a financial comfort situation.
The UK music industry has not been helped by lengthy delays to the launch of a government-supported Covid cancellation insurance scheme which was finally unveiled in August, more than a year after film and TV production industry gained access to a similar scheme. It came too late for many events and festivals that had to cancel for a second summer running.
We have listened carefully to the argument about UK Music s failure regarding event insurance, said Nadine Dorries, culture secretary. The UK music industry is one of our country's great national assets, and I give my commitment that the government will continue to support it every step of the way. Njoku-Goodwin called for measures including tax incentives, scrapping restrictions on transport and work permits affecting the ability of musicians to tour in some EU states and a permanent reduction in VAT on live music event tickets.
The annual report does not break out figures on the one bright spot for the industry during the pandemic streaming boom.
In the UK, music streaming soared by 22% last year to a record 139.3 billion streams as the global music sales grew for a sixth consecutive year to $21.6 bn, with subscriptions to streaming services in increasing as fans went digital to alleviate lockdown boredom.