UK Music


UK Music is a British umbrella organisation which represents the collective interests of the production side of UK's commercial music industry: artists, musicians, songwriters, composers, record labels, artist managers, music publishers, studio producers and music collecting societies. Launched on 26 September 2008, Feargal Sharkey, former member of The Undertones, became Chief Executive Officer and Andy Heath, former chairman of British Music Rights became chairman.
Sharkey left the organisation in November 2011, with Jo Dipple taking over as Acting CEO. UK Music confirmed on 27 January 2012 the appointment of Dipple as the next CEO.
In January 2017, the organisation announced that Dipple is to stand down as its CEO in June 2017. In April 2017, former Labour Party MP and Shadow Cabinet member, Michael Dugher, was announced as Dipple's replacement. Dugher took over as CEO of UK Music in May 2017.
In December 2019 Michael Dugher announced he would stepping down as CEO. Deputy CEO Tom Kiehl took over as Acting CEO in February 2020. Former Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson took over as Chair, replacing Andy Heath, in April 2020.
Members include the Association of Independent Music, The Ivors Academy, BPI Limited, PRS for Music, the MMF, the Music Publishers Association Limited, the Musicians Union Music Producers Guild and Phonographic Performance Limited.
The core goals of the organisation are the promotion of awareness and understanding of the following facets:
In November 2008, the magazine Music Week reported that Sharkey had written to Sir Ian Blair, then head of the Metropolitan Police Service, and Information Commissioner Richard Thomas "to clarify the 'use and purpose' of form 696, which asks for personal details on artists and musicians performing at gigs and the style of music they will be playing." In his letter, Sharkey wrote:

Sound Rights

In December 2008, UK Music launched Sound Rights, a free online resource for teachers and schools to support music study in schools. This was aimed at supporting the study of "the role of music and musicians in society, the music industry and of artistic and intellectual property rights.” In an interview with ISP Review in January 2009, UK Music Press Officer Adam Webb outlined the organisation's plans for tackling the problems of illegal file sharing over the internet and building working relationships with Internet Service Providers.

Love Music

In August 2018 UK Music and its members launched the #LoveMusic campaign, which sought to publicise the positive impact the European Parliament Copyright Directive would have on music creators, ahead of the vote on 12 September 2018. The campaign’s logo featured a butterfly created from a treble clef to symbolise the fragile ecosystem of the music industry, emphasising how creators needed protection or the world of music and music fans would suffer. The campaign urged people to sign a petition to be sent to MEPs. It also aimed to inform the public about how tech giants like Google and YouTube benefited from outdated copyright laws.
On 6 September 2018 UK Music pulled together key industry figures and music creators outside Google’s offices in London to highlight the campaign with a busking stunt that received national media coverage. Suede frontman Brett Anderson, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, Newton Faulkner and Ed Harcourt performed live as part of the campaign. MPs who joined the event in Kings Cross included Deputy Labour Leader and Shadow Culture Tom Watson MP, Shadow Culture Minister Kevin Brennan MP, prominent Lib Dem peer and digital economy spokesman Lord Clement-Jones, and former Deputy Speaker and Conservative MP Nigel Evans. Madeleina Kay performed her song Stand Up For Your Rights outside the tech giant’s building, before a chorus of artists, led by Misty Miller and arranged by The Ivors Academy chair Crispin Hunt, performed Arcade Fire’s song Wake Up.
In further support, UK Music CEO Michael Dugher wrote a piece for Record of The Day outlining UK Music’s stance on the Copyright Directive. “When it comes to protecting the future of our music industry and finally start ensuring that the creators of music content get fair rewards, I hope MEPs will vote to finally ‘Make Google Do It,’” he wrote.
On the day of the vote, UK Music’s chairman Andy Heath also supported the campaign with a statement on the UK music website.
UK Music celebrated Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market being approved on 26 March 2019 and confirmed by the Council of the European Union on 15 April 2019.