It’s good to be here today, and I am pleased to have landed this absolutely dream job.
Music occupies a very special place in the Arts. It uniquely touches the intellect and the emotions. And, at its best, it touches the soul.
It is certainly very special to me. I hesitate to mention my own musical abilities in such company, but however amateur they are, I find it is very calming to return home after a particularly heavy day in the Palace of Westminster playing a Chopin nocturne.
The importance we attach to making music, does define us as a nation, and it does reflect our national culture on the international stage. I have heard from musicians today about how they are promoting our interests abroad and in particular in developing countries.
The reputation, skill and creativity of our musicians are of course the envy of the world.
And despite the many challenges you in the Music Industry face, you are hugely successful, highly esteemed and strongly competitive on a global level.
To ensure this success endures I am looking forward to working with you to make sure that enthusiasm is nurtured at schools and those skills continue to be developed and then supported appropriately. Whether in the subsidised sector or the commercial sector, whether it is in the orchestral pit at the Royal Opera House, as a member of the Artic Monkeys, or on a keyboard at a youth centre in Hackney.
To an outside observer, the approach that we have had to music in DCMS in the past may be seen to be rather schizophrenic. We had an Arts Division dealing with the subsidised sector – the Arts Council, orchestral funding etc – and on the other side we have our Creative Industries Division which sponsors the commercial music industry.
In reality, of course, this division is far too simplistic. As, increasingly, employment patterns for musicians, and the issues such as those addressed by the Music Manifesto and the Live Music Forum, cut right across all genres and right across all activities. My present post with responsibilities for the Arts and Music recognises this.
There is of course a tangible relationship, a tangible progression, between the encouragement and support we give to children who want to develop their musical interests, and successful adult musicians, whether they are playing in the London Symphony Orchestra or a rock band.
One of the jobs of Government is to provide the right frameworks, the right conditions and the right environments to enable individuals to realise their full potential.
That’s why I was pleased that one of my first jobs was to launch the Arts Council England’s Take it away Scheme.
A key factor for a flourishing and sustainable music sector is access to musical instruments. As I know, they can be very expensive, especially when you have children or are just starting out on a career in music or have an ability which should be encouraged.
This innovative public private partnership helps to remove the financial barriers for people buying musical instruments, using interest-free loans or other ways, and reaffirms our commitment to the Music Manifesto. Most importantly, it helps ensure all sectors of our society have the opportunity to unleash their creativity – whether on a tabla in Southall or a guitar in Newcastle.
And it was in this spirit of wanting to establish the right environment for creators and artists to flourish, that we launched our Creative Economy Programme a couple of years ago. We wanted to make sure that we properly understand what it as that those in the creative sector need from us, what they need us to deliver, so that they could continue to prosper nationally and internationally.
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As I assume most of you are aware, the Programme was launched in 2005 by James Purnell, and prior to my current role I was the lead minister for the Programme at DTI. So we return with knowledge of the programme and we are both committed to driving this work forward.
The recent report to us on the creative sector from Will Hutton of the Work Foundation addressed the dichotomy I mentioned just now, between the subsidised and commercial sectors, and he attempted to establish a way of analysing their relationship.
I think he did so in a very interesting way, by producing a bulls-eye type diagram which placed the core creative activities which of course includes yourself at the centre. He progressively spread out the diagram in concentric circles to the cultural industries, then the creative industries, and then the rest of the economy.
Placing musicians at the core of all this activity or creativity will come as no surprise to you.
That’s why we want to explore through the Creative Economy Programme what we can do to ensure that you, as individuals and society and the economy in general enjoy the full benefits of your talents and your potential.
Of course, just because we’ve use the word ‘Economy’ you shouldn’t be misled into thinking that the Programme is geared just to financial considerations. As a society, we also invest in culture and creativity for social, aesthetic, emotional and moral reasons. But we also shouldn't ignore the economic effect this investment has, and we should investigate ways we could maximise that benefit. In any event, as Will Hutton’s analysis has shown, distinctions between investment in core Arts activities and benefits to the wider economy can be exaggerated distinctions. We need to take a more holistic view.
Take somebody like Jamie Cullum. He benefited greatly from Arts Council funding throughout his career and has gone on to sell multi-platinum albums. And would the future stars of the British jazz scene, like Polar Bear and Soweto Kinch, be where they are without the grass roots support to jazz again through the Arts Council? When I hear of an event like Urban Classics, which brought together rappers from Hackney with the BBC Concert Orchestra, I am also reminded of how the barriers can be broken down both between musical genres and the different organisations which support them and which, perhaps, too often do not work in isolation.
This is food for thought. And indicates that as a Government we need to understand better the effects that cultural investment can achieve, and that is why my Department intends to lead a research project into the relationship between culture and the creative industries as we develop the Creative Economy Programme.
We are aiming to publish a Green Paper on the Creative Economy in the Autumn and we want that paper to be a response to the Work Foundation report, as well as building on the work that has gone on in the context of the Creative Economy Programme. We have held summits, have the reports from the Working Groups, and numerous meetings and discussions, that have given us a huge range of views on what can be done to support the creative industries.
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We want to hear from you all. I am tremendously grateful to all who have contributed so far, and we hope that as many of you as possible will respond to the Green Paper when it is published. We will welcome further comments from all the representative bodies that have been engaged in dialogue with us over the last couple of years.
But most of all, we very much want to hear directly from those, like you, who have real practical experience of what it’s like to work day-to-day in the creative sector. We need you to help us so that we can help you.
I don’t need to tell you that the ability of creators to make an income from their creativity is key, or monetarise, as I am told the new phrase for this is. That’s why the Government recognises the importance of Intellectual Property and copyright. For the first time, we’ve got a dedicated Government Department for Innovation and we’ve got a Minister, David Triesman, who’s got special responsibility for IP. This puts copyright more directly and firmly on the Ministerial agenda than ever before, and provides increased opportunities for further discussion with all stakeholders on the future of copyright in the digital age. I think this is one of our greatest challenges. We need to find new business models for the digital era and I want to take that debate forward.
I recognize the future of the UK’s creative economy is built on valuing and rewarding IP. I also recognize there is a lot of confusion and ignorance amongst consumers, and even, I’m afraid, some creators, about the role of intellectual property so it’s vital that we - and that means all parts of the music industry as well as Government - provide relevant and accessible information to all parts of the value chain, so that we can raise awareness of why we need a sensible and robust copyright regime, and why people should pay for creative content.
Through the CREATE group, the Government is working closely with all our industry partners to share best practice and to develop a framework that all stakeholders can buy into. We’ve got initiatives such as the UK-IPO’s Think - Kit and the British Music Rights supported Quick Start Music Programme, which are practical examples of industry and Government working in partnership to embed the value of IP into the consciousness of the general public. This is all a long term strategy. It’s about changing hearts and minds and I applaud the efforts of the music industry.
I know that live music performance is the most important income source for many of you. It’s great that growing numbers of people are choosing to seek out and enjoy live music at concerts, in pubs or at the exploding numbers of live rock music festivals. Live music is the fastest growing part of the industry.
Of course the importance of live music was, not unexpectedly, very much the theme of the Live Music Forum’s report and recommendations, which were published a couple of weeks ago and the text of which can be viewed on my Department’s website.
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I know many of you were concerned when the Licensing Act came into force about the adverse effect the Act might have on live music. That’s why we set up the Forum to monitor the impact of the Act and to advise us on how to ensure this crucial part of the industry continues to thrive. I would like to thank all members of the Forum, and in particular Feargal and John for their hard work over the last three years. And of course those of you who have helped the Forum in its work. I was delighted that Feargal was one of the first people I met when I became Minister.
The Forum has presented a very interesting and challenging report. I’m obviously pleased that it found the Act had not had the damaging impact that some feared it might, and that it has already delivered benefits such as removing the separate live music fee and the renewal process which I gather had helped people.
However, as the report makes clear, and as we recognise, there are some areas of concern, and we should look at these again to ensure that live music, at all levels, can continue to thrive. So I’m looking forward to considering the findings and recommendations with Gerry Sutcliffe and James Purnell before responding formally in the autumn.
I’m sure there will be some recommendations that we will be able to take forward quite quickly – in fact there is one I’m going to mention in a moment. And some, particularly those that would require changes to the legislation, will need longer consideration before we decide what steps would be the most practical and beneficial for all those with an interest. But rest assured - we don’t want to stop musicians from performing and we don’t want to put unnecessary barriers in their way. Why would we?
As I have just said we have already taken action in respect of one of the Forum’s recommendations.
Yesterday James Purnell announced that he and Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children Families and Schools, have jointly asked Feargal to take forward the Forum’s recommendation in respect of increasing the provision of music rehearsal spaces for young people. Feargal, who I think is speaking after me, was, I know, looking forward to a long summer break after three years hard slog as Chair of the Forum, but I’m afraid that he’s become a victim of his own success. Anyway, he has very kindly agreed to explore how such a network of such centres can be set up, for which James and I are very grateful. I daresay that as a result some of you might be receiving a phone call from him in the not too distance future!
I know you will all be looking forward to hearing from Feargal in a few moments on how he thinks the UK’s live music scene can be further supported. But I do just want to say something, which is at the top of your agenda, funding for the Arts.
Arts and culture in this country have an outstanding record of achievement over the last few years. They are important to millions of people and provide those life enhancing experiences and enhance our international reputation. They are vital both to our economy and to our national quality of life.
Your success has in part, been enabled by the increases in Government investment. The current level of investment in the Arts is £412 million, an increase of 73 per cent in real terms since 1997.
And that increased investment has paid off.
There are 135 Music Regularly Funded Organisations in the Arts Council portfolio. And funding for music through Arts Council England has more than doubled since 1997 to over £100 million this year.
Arts and culture have been a tremendous success under this Government and our view is that we should build on that success. It is on that basis that we are discussing the Spending Review with the Treasury.
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I am also in no doubt that the tremendous opportunities offered by the 2012 Games and the Cultural Olympiad are an even greater prize that will provide a legacy in terms of Arts and heritage, and in terms of regeneration and community engagement. Anyone who saw the start of the Tour De France a few weekends ago couldn’t fail to be excited about the prospect of the world’s best athletes competing against the backdrop of our wonderful capital.
I know there is concern about the decision to use the Lottery to support the Games. But I have to say that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were exactly the kind of national event that the Lottery was intended for.
The Lottery’s contribution to the Games will be about 19 per cent of Lottery income from the time that we won the bid to the Games themselves.
That compares to the 20 per cent of Lottery funding earmarked for the Millennium when the Lottery was first set up.
The Games are not just about sport. They will be a great opportunity to showcase the best that the arts and culture in Britain have to offer, and to galvanise the energy and enthusiasm of people across the country in a major cultural programme in the lead up to 2012.
Next summer will see the start of the 4 year Cultural Olympiad. It will be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show the very best that Britain has to offer, an opportunity that I hope is fully embraced by all sectors.
One of the major projects currently being planned will be ‘2012 Sounds!’ This will see exciting music projects taking place around the UK. I was really pleased to see that Youth Music has already announced an investment of £9 million to support the youth music making project as part of the cultural Olympiad.
And a UK-wide Cultural Festival is planned to build up to and to run alongside the Games. The aim is that projects involved in the festival should be drawn from grass roots community projects, engage local communities, and increase participation leaving a lasting cultural legacy.
We have established a £40 million Legacy Trust to support sporting and cultural projects in the run up to the 2012 Games, and Youth Music announced in June that it is committing £9 million to music making projects for young people to take part in the Cultural Olympiad.
This all adds up to an exciting time to be a creative person in the UK, and I am very much looking forward to working with you and the sector to ensure this creativity is nurtured. I want to listen to you, learn from you and I assure you I will do my best to ensure your interests are well represented in Government.