Music industry leaders call for government support

Music industry officials in Britain have stressed the need for government support following the general election.

According to UK Music and New Deal of the Mind, the next government needs to introduce a mechanism that allows entrepreneurialism to thrive in the creative industries and lets creativity bloom.

Writing in a joint letter to the Times, they said this is important because the creative industries contribute £50 billion to the British economy every year.

However, it noted that many of those working in areas such as music are either freelancers or self-employed.

As a result, UK Music and New Deal of the Mind are concerned that this sizeable economic contribution is not based on firm foundations.

The groups are calling for public spending on the arts to be properly targeted and for a Creative Industries Cabinet Committee to be set up.

They have also said that entrepreneurs in the creative industries need to be given "fair access" to schemes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee.

Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, recently said he considers the music sector to be a great "national asset" that should be regarded as a great professional industry.

Product category: Electronic musical instruments