A DIT Creative Industries ‘Creative Showcase’ launch event took place yesterday evening (20 September 2021), attended by new ministers, Mike Freer (DIT) and Julia Lopez (DCMS), along with creative industry leaders spanning music (including Geoff Taylor, CEO, BPI), TV and film, publishing, fashion, gaming, advertising, and tech.
The event was part of DIT’s new ‘Made in Britain, Sold to the World’ campaign that celebrates exports success, provides practical export help and encourages more British businesses to realise the exciting exports opportunities to take their goods and services to a global market.
Minister for Exports, Mike Freer, said: “The UK’s creative industries are a force to be reckoned with. We create, write, produce and code amazing products, and sell them to the world.
“The nation can be proud of our creative industries exporters, and the jobs they create in our economy.
“Along with the trade deals we’re striking, we are committed to helping our creative businesses fulfil their potential on the world stage, fuelling sustainable growth for British businesses and creating new jobs in
every region and nation of the UK.”
British music exports were a highlight of the evening (The UK is the second largest exporter of music in the world and exports reached a record high last year, up six per cent to £519.7m compared to 2019), and DIT used the occasion to announce a further £330,000 in government funding for the Music Export Growth Scheme – in joint partnership with DCMS and the International Showcase Fund (ISF).
Geoff Taylor welcomed the government’s continued commitment and spoke of the important partnership with government that lies behind the success of MEGS, which to date has supported 282 largely independently-signed artists, furthering their careers, whilst also delivering £12 for every government pound invested – translating to over £51 million in reported returns to the UK.
Geoff cited Wolf Alice, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Young Fathers, Ghetts, Dave and, more recently, Bebadoobee and Jungle – as just a few of the artists who have benefited from MEGS in their initial steps exporting their amazing talent.
Geoff Taylor called on the government to continue building and expanding on the success of MEGS to help music British SMEs as part of a wider goal of doubling annual British music exports to £1 billion by 2030, stating: “With continued government support, the UK can double its recorded music annual exports to more than one billion pounds in the coming decade.”
Geoff then had great pleasure in introducing on stage MEGS funded The Orielles, who produced a great live performance for the guest audience.
Esmé Dee Hand-Halford, member of The Orielles, said: “MEGS turned our dream of performing in America into a reality.
“As a band on an indie label in the UK, we could never have funded this trip ourselves. MEGS removed the stress of funding an expensive US tour, so we could concentrate on playing to new audiences, internationally. We are very grateful to the scheme to enable independent acts such as ourselves, and giving musicians the opportunity, to promote their music overseas.”
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