British music moguls keen to make their mark on the global stage will visit Japan from 2 to 6 August in a bid to understand what it takes to crack the world’s second largest music market.
The 28 music companies brought together by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), in partnership with BPI, the British Recorded Music Industry, include Gary Barlow’s new company Future Records; Robbie Williams’ management company iE Music; Illa State Records, co-owned by MOBO award-wining rapper and founder of the Hip Hop Shakespeare theatre company, Akala, and FAADA, Elroy ‘Spoonface’s’ record management company.
Phil Patterson, UKTI music specialist, who will also be chairing panel sessions during the mission, said: “This music mission is really a master class into how to successfully compete and gain real business insight in one of the world’s most lucrative markets. This is the sort of opportunity money can’t buy and we are one of the few countries that give music companies, and their talent, such a head-start.
Feargal Sharkey, Chief Executive of UK Music, the umbrella group representing the UK’s commercial music industry, said: “The UK is a world leader for music, and we are one of only three countries in the world who are net exporters of repertoire. Quite justifiably, BPI/UKTI trade missions have gained a reputation for playing a significant role in that remarkable accomplishment – taking UK music entrepreneurs to key international markets and laying the foundation for future and sustained success.”
The companies involved in the mission will take part in panel sessions and workshops, and will be given the opportunity to present their repertoire and meet senior music industry experts from major and independent companies including Universal Music Japan, EMI Japan, Imperial Records and Fujipacific Music Inc.
UK music facts * UK music is a major UK export, worth around US$2 billion annually. * The UK is the third biggest market for music in the world; only the USA and Japan are larger. * The money made by UK artists overseas increased by 19.4 per cent between 2008 and 2009, up from £139.8 million to £166.9 million. International royalties earned by UK acts have more doubled since 1999. * The biggest-selling artist album in the world has been provided by a British act for the last three years in a row (Susan Boyle, Coldplay, and Amy Winehouse). * 2009 saw UK acts achieve huge critical success and multi-platinum sales in domestic and worldwide markets. Susan Boyle’s debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, was the world’s biggest seller, as well as the fastest-selling debut ever, while artists such as Muse and Lily Allen enjoyed Number Ones in many territories. In the USA, several landmarks were achieved, with Coldplay becoming the first act to sell one million digital albums and Jay Sean the first British Urban artist to reach the top of the Billboard Top 100. Media contact For more information contact
Notes for editors
* UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk
* The BPI is the representative voice of the UK recorded music business. We are a trade organisation funded by our members – which include hundreds of independent music companies and the UK’s four major record labels. BPI’s members account for approximately 90% of all recorded music sold in the UK, and globally the UK’s recorded music market is the third biggest. The BPI also organises the annual BRIT Awards show as well as the Classical BRIT Awards show. The organising company BRIT Awards Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Substantial proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the charitable arm of the BPI that has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide, since its foundation in 1989.
* The delegates taking part in this mission are: Ammunition Promotions Limited, Baroque Records Limited, Espionage TLC & Think, Exploding Chicken, FAADA, Future Records/ San Remo Live Limited, Generator / Epic Leisure, Gilmour Design/ Sounds of Caligula, Horus Music Limited, IE Music, Illa State Records/ Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, Inigo Recordings Limited, Jalapeno Records, Kully B Productions, Lightsong Music Limited, Monumental, Nice Things Music, Notting Hill Music, Phoenix Music, Pinball Productions, Supreme Music Limited, This Morning Call, Transmission Management and Vigilante Vocal Tech.