A new report reveals that the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) has generated £36 million in export revenues for the UK economy.
It works out at £12 for every £1 invested in the scheme, based on the results of the first 12 funding rounds.
The results underline the importance of the scheme for the UK industry. BPI and BRIT Awards chief executive Geoff Taylor has spoken of the opportunities for post-Brexit trade deals to support music exports.
Launched in 2014, the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) is administered by the BPI and funded through the Department for International Trade as part of the Government’s Exporting is Great campaign. It is designed to boost British music exports by supporting small to medium sized music companies as they look to build on the potential of their artists in overseas markets.
The scheme has supported 242 successful applications over 16 funding rounds. According to the study, the diverse range of artists on the MEGS scheme have so far reported that it resulted in 53 record deals, 47 publishing and sub-publishing deals, and 135 sync licensing deals as well as a host of press and festival opportunities.
The UK punches well above its weight as the largest exporter of music in the world after the US
Geoff Taylor
Artists supported across a host of genres include Mercury Prize winners Wolf Alice and Young Fathers, and BRITs Mastercard British Album of The Year and Mercury Prize winner Dave, alongside acts such as Welsh rockers Catfish & The Bottlemen, Anna Calvi, Ezra Collective, Nina Nesbitt, YolanDa Brown, Ghetts, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Applications totalling £24.5 million have been made to the scheme, with £3.8 million granted following the application processes. Almost all the acts (94%) supported have been signed to an independent label. Just over half (55%) the funding supported marketing and touring in North America, with around a third (35%) spent on promotional activity in Europe.
Taylor said: “The Music Export Growth Scheme is a highly successful partnership between Government and the private sector promoting UK exports. Britain has a great tradition of promoting its music across the planet – the UK punches well above its weight as the largest exporter of music in the world after the US – and the Music Export Growth Scheme is an increasingly important foundation underlying this track record.
“I would like to thank The Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Great campaign – and the teams there – for their continued support and investment in the Scheme.”
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