Connects Music – Covid-19 Impact Study on UK Musicians’ and Music Creators’ Livelihoods
Connects Music – Covid-19 Impact Study on UK Musicians’ and Music Creators’ Livelihoods
This report reveals the impact over the last nine months of Covid-19 on UK musicians and music creators who are at the heart of the UK’s £5.8 billion music industry ( UK Music defines music creators as musicians, composers, songwriters, lyricists, singers, producers and
engineers).
ConnectsMusic, a well-established music networking body, reached out to its community of
over 5,000 members plus its extended network in a sample survey. The survey sought data
on the following aspects of musicians’/music creators’ activities:
● Earnings from live performance
● Numbers of performances
● Income from recording session work
● Royalties and composition
● Online performance work and royalties from streaming
● Education work
● Well-being
● Government support
The headline survey findings include the following:
● Since the March 2020 lockdown musicians’ earnings from live performance
have slumped by over 90%
● 92% of those surveyed have little or no live performances lined up in 2021
● 83% of the musicians and music creators surveyed reported a significant
reduction in earnings from recording.
● 84% of musicians and music creators surveyed have lost teaching work
● 40% of the musicians and music creators surveyed are considering quitting
the music industry.
Whilst the public generally think of musicians in terms of live performance, musicians also earn
money from recording, broadcast and publishing royalties, composition and teaching. The
ConnectsMusic survey shows that musicians and music creators have lost significant portions of
income from each of these.
The closure of public entertainment facilities has meant that the public has switched to online
entertainment instead. The ConnectsMusic survey shows that there has been an increase in
music streaming, but there has not been a corresponding increase in royalty earnings to
musicians and music creators.
The Surveys detailed findings are here: https://connectsmusic.com/covid-impact-survey-results/