12/12/2017 As a grime fan, I know the power of the UKs urban music scene | News | The Times &

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december 5 2017, 12:01am,the times

As a grime fan, I know the power of the

UKs urban music scene
matt hancock

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I
have the great honour of championing British music
around the world. As we look out across the globe as a
nation, our music is one of our strongest calling cards.
Despite being only one per cent of the worlds population,
British artists accounted for an astonishing one in every eight
album sales around the world in 2016, and seven of the years
top-10 best-selling artist albums. We are the second largest

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music exporter after the US. Its hard to think of a single other
area of life where British dominance is so dramatic.

Earlier this year, UK Musics Measuring Music report showed

the industrys exports were up 13 per cent to 2.5 billion and its
contribution to the economy was up six per cent year-on-year to
MENU 4.4
tuesday billion.
december 12 2017

From classical to pop, punk to grime, the UKs music is loved all
over the world.

It hardly needs saying that this dominance is down to the

ingenuity and creativity of British artists. So it is hugely
important that music reects the diversity of modern Britain.

For example, as a fan of grime music, I know our amazing urban

music makes a massive contribution to our creative industries.
The sounds of Skepta and Lady Leshurr are making waves
across the world.

Their success is in part due to the massive changes in the way

we enjoy music. After years of struggle to nd a sustainable
business model in the online world, our music industry is once
again thriving thanks to streaming.

For fans this is great: we now have access to millions of songs on

our phones whenever weve got a connection. For musicians its
brilliant: emerging artists can break through and get global
reach as never before, thanks to social media and the power of
online digital platforms. And vinyl is back too now the fastest
growing part of the market. The old and the new rising together.

As we have seen over the last few years, artists are able to
disrupt the business model through digital distribution. You can
upload tracks and sell music direct to fans.
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This means the platforms and the content producers both have
a hand in this success. For it to work we need robust rules to
protect intellectual property. Earlier this year we brokered an
agreement for platforms to take down pirate material. Its
working well and its harder to nd pirate material online. This
sort of collaboration is critical, so musicians are properly
rewarded for their creativity and the industry can thrive. Were
monitoring how it goes and will stay alert to protect peoples
content online.

Live music is another essential part of the industry. While

streaming means recorded music can reach more people than
ever before, live music has never been more popular: its value to
the UK economy is more than 1 billion. Grassroots music
venues and recording studios give artists a place to hone their
craft, connect to their audience and in many cases, get
discovered.

So we are acting to protect those places where a large majority

of our world-class musicians took their rst steps on the road to
success.

We have reformed entertainment licensing and made changes

to planning requirements, making it easier for small venues to
operate. Weve put 300m into music education hubs, to help
people from all backgrounds get access to instruments while
theyre at school.

Im immensely proud of the work we did together with the

music industry to persuade the Metropolitan Police to abolish
form 696, which hampered urban artists chances to showcase
their talents in the capital. Now it will be easier for UK artists
from all backgrounds to perform in London. J Hus and Giggs,
both brilliant at Spotifys packed out Alexandra Palace gig last
week, said form 696 was a massive barrier to live performances.
I am in no doubt this will help our night time economy thrive.

We are not stopping there. Next year I will host the inaugural
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Diversity and Social Mobility Forum. This will bring together
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heads of industry from across the DCMS policy areas, including

music.

Weve worked closely with UK Music to set up the Rehearsal

Room Scheme, which resulted in 14 rehearsal spaces being
created across the country, helping lots of new talent nurture
their skills.

Were determined to make sure our fantastic music scene

continues to grow and develop, while embracing all genres and
building on this nations incredibly rich musical history.

Matt Hancock is minister for digital and culture

Music London United States

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9 comments
Newest | Oldest | Most Recommended

ShayeWestL 7 days ago

Is this i) the most lunatic or is it ii) the best headline+byline picture
combo the Times has ever produced? Its nearly midnight and I've
lost perspective.

1 Recommend Reply

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12/12/2017 As a grime fan, I know the power of the UKs urban music scene | News | The Times & The Sunday Times

Ian Davies 7 days ago

Lordy. What next? Stormzy. "As a fan of Keynsian economics, I urge
the government to increase spending on large scale infrastructure
projects". The sub editor must have either been p*ssing themselves,
or drunk. Probably both.

3 Recommend Reply

Andy S 7 days ago

Well I never. And I always had him down as more a Drum n Bass
head.

1 Recommend Reply

Mark 7 days ago

A pre requisite of being an MP must be the ability to like grime.

2 Recommend Reply

JRS 7 days ago

Sorry - but you are a Brexiteer no?

1 Recommend Reply

Joester 7 days ago

tool

1 Recommend Reply

Maurice White 7 days ago

Grime is music-free aggression. Horrible stu .

4 Recommend Reply

Lewis G 7 days ago

Well done Matt. This is exactly the kind of intelligent management
that all government departments should perform. Ministers need to
realise they don't have to make big changes to change the world for
individuals, and the changes you've made have helped a lot of
young artists.

3 Recommend Reply

David Allen 7 days ago

Are you a fan of that nice wholesome rap music too?

4 Recommend Reply
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