COLDPLAY, Beyonce and Harry Styles gave our economy plenty to sing about last year — helping to boost it by more than £7billion.
The music industry’s massive impact on the nation’s coffers was hailed yesterday — but experts warned of “challenges” ahead.
Solo artists and bands contributed £7.6billion in 2023, according to trade body UK Music.
Among the biggest money-spinners was Beyonce, with 250,000 fans pouring into Spurs’ football ground to see her over five nights.
There were also sell-out gigs in Sunderland, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
More than 300,000 saw Harry Styles’ four dates at Wembley, with Coldplay, Sir Elton John and Blur among other big live performers.
Meanwhile, revenue from British talent playing abroad — including Adele in Las Vegas — hit a new high of £4.6billion, up 15 per cent on 2022.
The music industry employed a record 216,000 people, up three per cent in a year.
UK Music chief Tom Kiehl said it is “ideally placed to turbo-charge the new government’s mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7”.
But he said there were also “vulnerabilities”, including concern over around 125 grassroots music venues closing last year.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said “the music industry is a real British success story”, which the Government is committed to building on.
