What Musicians Do: A UK Perspective

Question 1

How much did the UK music industry contribute to the wider UK economy in 2016?

Answer 1

£4.4 billion

Question 2

What was the total number of people whose jobs were sustained by the UK music industry in 2016?

Answer 2

142,208

Question 3

In the commercial music industry: what percentage are musicians/composers/songwriters/lyricists?

Answer 3

63%

Question 4

Myth of ‘making it’

Answer 4

• success is not instant/’overnight’ and impossible to benchmark
• Joyce Di Donato’s Julliard commencement 2014 ‘You will never make it … I don’t think “it” exits for an artist… Commit to the journey and not the destination’

Question 5

What is a ‘portfolio’ career?

Answer 5

• “stock portfolio” (Pierre-Michel Menger) - “lower their career risks”
• many part-time jobs that when combined are​ equal to a full-time job e.g. teaching lectures or instrument, leading music groups for children (can then do more of one job if there’s not enough work in another area)

Question 6

What percentage of respondents believe Brexit will have a positive impact on their work as musicians/producers/talent managers?

Answer 6

2%

Question 7

What percentage of approx 2400 membership status players in UK classical orchestras are employed on a permanent/long-term contract?

Answer 7

48%

Question 8

What is a ‘professional musician’?

Answer 8

Composer
Teacher
Performer
Technician
Producer
Manager
Entrepreneur
Facilitator
Therapist

Question 9

Roughly how many concerts take place in UK hospitals/care settings in a year?

Answer 9

5000

Question 10

Cha(lle)nging hierarchies

Answer 10

• R. Rogers - we place more “value” on a musician that is a “high-quality performer” than one who is a “high-quality leader, mentor or teacher” which is limiting relationships between musicians and their employers and their audiences

Question 11

Teaching myth

Answer 11

‘He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.’ (George Bernard Shaw) is a a lie! Teachers are no more failed performers than producers are failed composers

Question 12

What % of ABRSM surveyed instrumental/singing teachers also work as proffessional performers? (Making Music ABRSM 2014)

Answer 12

32%

Question 13

What % of ABRSM surveyed instrumental/singing teachers were female? (2014)

Answer 13

71%

Question 14

Sources of annual amount of royalties for UK composers?

Answer 14

23% pubs and clubs
17% live performances
13% hotels/restaurants/cafes
12% industrial premises
11% shops
5% cinemas

Question 15

Areas of music industry

Answer 15

Admin + company management
Agency + artist management
Broadcasting
Composition
Conducting
Education + community work
Instrument sale, manufacture + maintenance
Marketing, PR + Retail
Music Therapy/Alexander Technique
Opera + Musical Theatre
Instrumentalist/Singer
Publishing (+digital)
Record industry (+digital)
Teaching