Minister: UK music industry a huge success

Largely unremarked in the mainstream press the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Ed Vaizey, (and other MPs) had some very upbeat things to say about the UK music industry in the House of Commons yesterday. His contribution to the discussion begins at 1.49pm.

"I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Selby and Ainsty (Nigel Adams) on securing this important debate. The fact that so many hon. Members have attended, intervened and made speeches shows that there is large-scale recognition throughout the House of the success of the music industry, and support for it...

We talked about the huge success of the British music industry—and it is a staggering success, with almost £4 billion of sales. Britain is the only country apart from the United States and Sweden that is a net exporter of music..

We have a thriving and vibrant music scene...we have a vibrant music ecology in this country..."

Sadly he also engaged in loose platitudes about "intellectual property theft", the alleged dazzling brilliance of the digital economy act and the Newzbin blocking activities and vague references to the Hargreaves report.

It does beg the question though that if the UK music industry is doing so spectacularly well, why so much energy continues to be expended on the expansion of copyright?  It would also be interesting from an economic perspective to see the underlying evidence for the suggestion that it is currently a nearly £4 billion industry and what specifically that £4 billion entails.