Overview: How Beyoncé, Coldplay and Taylor Swift impacted in the UK economy

The UK music industry is booming this years as for the first time, the economic value of gigs are at more than £6billion.

According to Industry body Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment (Live)’s annual report on the health of the music sector, a post-lockdown rush back to music activities has driven a 17 per cent year-on-year boost to Britain.

Before the COVID-19, it was 35 per cent less than what Brits spent on gigs and tours.

“Significant growth” for the industry was largely driven by stadium shows and huge festivals, according to the CEO of Live, Jon Collins.

“We had some of the biggest names in music sell out tours and festivals across the UK, but we also saw pressure build up across our industry, leading to grassroots music venues and festivals left with no choice but to close down in the face of rising costs.

“Reintroducing a lower rate of VAT on tickets would bring the UK into line with international competitors and would be pivotal in unlocking the economic potential of our industry. 

“With a lower rate of VAT on tickets, we could see the sector grow further, supporting more jobs, generating more investment, and putting on more gigs, festivals and tours for people to enjoy.” He said.

Meanwhile, last year hosted Coldplay and Beyonce as the pair completed tours as that contributed to 28 per cent of the economic boost.

According to data from Barclays earlier in this year, indicated that Swifties were set to spend £1billion on the shows- between tickets, travel, accomodation, merchandise and their Swift-themed outfits.

However, coming to Africa, Nigerian music has hit the global music market as the surge boasted the Nigerian economy. 

A Spotify 2023 Loud & Clear report indicated that royalties paid to Nigerian artists skyrocketed by 2,500 per cent since 2017, amounting to N25bn in 2023.

Additionally, Nigeria’s barge genre, Afrobeats led global music consumption trends in 2023, generating 2.5 billion on-demand audio streams in the United States in the first half of 2023.

Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ topped the Shazam charts globally in 2023. 

Significantly, Ckay’s ‘Love Nwantiti’ became Nigeria’s first song to reach a billion streams on Spotify and achieved eight-times platinum status.

However, Nigeria’s music industry is not without challenges as it contributes minimally to local revenue compared to South Africa.

As a result of the high cost of internet access in Nigeria, there are many limitations to the availability of music to the low-income earners.