Esther McVey
Main Page: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)Music and the Economy
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Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)
Time is short, so I will keep my remarks brief. The music industry and the entertainment business are not called that for no reason; they are called that because they are worth £5 billion to the economy, with £1.3 billion coming specifically from exports, and they employ 130,000 people. However, I want to look specifically at the impact on the north-west.
Coming from Liverpool, I like to see the city as the epicentre of creativity and the hub of the music industry. Whether we are talking about Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Real Thing, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Lightning Seeds, The La’s, The Zutons or The Coral, Liverpool is a creative hub.
I want to look at the direct and indirect consequences of music and the music industry. Yes, music has financial implications, but it is also an emotional outlet for a younger generation and a way to let their creativity out. It can provide jobs that people might not otherwise have. People can express and stretch themselves, and they can explain their life and their whole meaning.
Obviously, I could not talk about Liverpool as a creative hub without mentioning The Beatles and what they are still worth to the city. The Beatles Story museum attracts 600,000 people every year. It is claimed that people going there over recent years have brought £20 million to Liverpool and Merseyside per year—that is just because of The Beatles.
UK Music research found that the north-west attracts 965,000 music tourism visitors per year and accounts for 12% of all such visits to the UK. It is the second biggest such destination outside London. In addition, it is estimated that music tourists in the north-west spend at least £132 million a year, which benefits the north-west economy by £56 million a year in gross value added. That also sustains the equivalent of 1,400 full-time jobs. The music industry is vital for us and something we particularly excel in. It links to the film industry, adverts, the gaming industry, TV and radio. We also have the brand-new MediaCity in Salford.
My point to the Minister is that we need to protect the industry and the creatives. We need to protect music as a financial and creative industry. We must support it to help it grow, and we must sustain it as much as possible. We must also link in the new MediaCity in Salford as much as we can, so that we get as much benefit from it as we can.