129/05
10 October 2005
Small Music Companies Get The Government's Ear
Music Minister, James Purnell, today took an important step towards breaking down the financial barriers faced by the small and medium sized businesses that make up 90 per cent of the UK's music industry.
A new study of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Music Industry will look at the financial problems they face when starting up or developing. The results of this work will inform future Government policies for providing business support to the large number of SMEs in the industry.
The month long study, which begins today, will:
- identify how SMEs in the music industry access finance;
- look into the extent to which businesses encounter problems in accessing finance, and the reasons why;
- estimate the extent to which this is proving to be a barrier to the growth of businesses; and
- identify any other barriers which prevent businesses growing.
There are several thousand SMEs in the music industry including independent record labels, music publishers, concert promoters and PR agencies. All these businesses are invited to take part in the study.
James Purnell said:
"Every company starts small before it gets big. We need to help them make that journey. Many SMEs in the music industry face difficulties getting finance to start up or to grow – we know the symptoms, now we must find the cause.
"This study will, for the first time, give us real, robust data which will help inform our future policies.
"It goes without saying – the small music businesses are vital, not only to the industry itself, but also to our culture and economy.
"The music industry contributes £5 billion each year to the UK's economy and employs 130,000 people. And without the independent record labels and publishers - who discover much of our new and successful talent– we would be starved of great British acts such as Franz Ferdinand or Bloc Party."
Alison Wenham, Chairman and CEO of Association of Independent Music (AIM) and Chair of the Small Business Group, said:
"The Music Industry welcomes the DCMS productivity survey of small music companies. We believe it will provide invaluable knowledge into how small, creative companies operate, their specific business issues and how government and industry may be able to support this vibrant but fragile sector of the music industry. We look forward to working with the DCMS to establish a concrete agenda for growth."
Notes to Editors
1. A DCMS research report Banking on a Hit suggested that that the majority of the 90 per cent of SMEs that constitute the music industry experience difficulties in accessing finance to fund start-up or second stage growth.
2. An SME is defined as:
- Not more than 250 employees
- Turnover of not more than £22.8m
3. The study is being carried out by Burns Owens Partnership Ltd (BOP). BOP is an economic development consultancy with specialist knowledge of culture and the creative industries. BOP equips decision makers with the knowledge they need to put creative sectors at the heart of their plans for sustainable growth and development. The company provides a range of services from research to strategy development, programme delivery to evaluation. Its work is designed to address pressing questions and to produce practical outcomes. www.bop.co.uk
DCMS Press Enquiries: 0207 211 6271
Out of hours telephone pager no: 07699 751153
Public Enquiries: 0207 211 6200
top
|
