UK Music

UK Music promotes the interests of record labels, songwriters, musicians, managers, publishers, producers, promoters and collecting societies through high profile campaigns and events. According to Billboard, British artists constitute 13.7% of all global music sales and account for 1 in 7 albums purchased by fans around the globe.[1]It also draws up policy to deal with issues impacting the industry, engages in high level political lobbying to ensure any new legislation benefits its members and undertakes extensive and ground-breaking research to track market trends and forecast future business opportunities.

UK Music also works to ensure music – and the copyright that underwrites it – is recognised and valued at all levels of Government, throughout the wider economy and by consumers.
UK Music is a campaigning and lobbying group, which represents every part of the recorded and live music industry.
UK Music represents and promotes the interests of the whole music industry.

UK Music works to persuade politicians and business leaders about the value of music to the national economy and its key role in the United Kingdom’s creative and cultural makeup.[2]

UK Music members include:

The Association of Independent Music (“AIM”),[3] a trade body established in 1999 to provide a collective voice for the UK’s independent music industry;
BASCA,[4] a music organization that exists to support and protect the artistic, professional, commercial and copyright interests of songwriters, lyricists and composers of all genres of music and to celebrate and encourage excellence in British music writing;
The British Phonographic Industry (“BPI”),[5] that represents the UK’s recorded music industry, which includes more than independent music companies and the UK’s major record companies – Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music. Together, BPI’s members account for 85% of all music sold in the UK;
The Music Managers Forum (“MMF”),[6] a music organisation which, since its inception in 1992, has worked hard to educate, inform and represent UK managers (and their artists) as well as offering a network through which managers can share experiences, opportunities and information;
The Music Publishers Association (“MPA”),[7] which exists to safeguard the interests of music publishers and the writers signed to them. It provides them with a forum and a collective voice, offers them a range of practical services, represents their interests to government, the music industry and the media, and works to inform and to educate the wider public in the importance and value of copyright. The MPA also owns two collection societies: The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society Ltd (“MCPS”), appointed by publishers to license the mechanical right to music users, and Printed Music Licensing Ltd (“PMLL”), which manages the licensing of the copying of printed music in the UK on behalf of music publishers;
The Music Producers Guild (“MPG”),[8] an independent and democratic organisation that encourages the highest standards of music production, and actively engages with other music industry organisations to campaign and lobby on matters of important mutual interest. The MPG represents and promotes the interests of all those involved in the production of recorded music, including producers, engineers, mixers, re-mixers, programmers and mastering engineers;
The Musicians’ Union,[9] a globally-respected organisation which represents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the music business;
PPL,[10] a music licensing company which licenses recorded music for broadcast, online and public performance use. Established in 1934, PPL carries out this role on behalf of thousands of record company and performer members;
PRS for Music,[11] representing music writers, composers and publishers. Formed as The MCPS-PRS Alliance in 1997 with the PRS for Music brand adopted in 2009, the organisation brings together two royalty collection societies; MCPS and PRS. PRS for Music exists to collect and pay royalties to its members when their music is exploited in one of a number of ways – when it is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online;
UK Live Music Group,[12] a music organisation that was formed by the live music industry to galvanise its views and provide a way of linking their representative bodies to UK Music. Members include the Agents’ Association (AA), the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Concert Promoters Association (CPA), the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), the National Arenas Association (NAA), theProduction Services Association (PSA)and theIndependent Venue and Promoter Association (we:LIVE);
The Featured Artists Coalition (“FAC”),[13]thevoice for featured artists in the changing music industry. FAC represents the interests of Featured Artists within the national, European and International political arenas when relevant issues such as copyright law and music licensing are being debated. FAC Guides artists through the complexity of the technology landscape and the modern music industry and negotiates with companies to secure favourable terms for all FAC artists. FAC creates opportunities for artists to meet and support each other locally and aids the development of Artist Organisations all over the world;