Liverpool will become a testbed for the future of the music industry, launching a waterfront hub where artists, tech companies, and policymakers collaborate on new ways to create, distribute, and monetise music. This matters because the UK music industry—worth £6.7 billion and employing 210,000 people—faces systemic cracks. Grassroots venues and touring are declining, copyright and royalty systems are opaque, and most freelancers and musicians struggle to build stable careers. Meanwhile, disruptive technologies such as AI, virtual reality, and blockchain could transform how music is made and sold, but only if the industry ensures equitable access to them. MusicFutures asks how a regional innovation ecosystem can incubate new artistic and technical practices that drive business growth while keeping the sector inclusive. If successful, the project could reshape the infrastructure that quietly underpins the music economy: how rights are managed, how royalties flow to artists, and how new talent breaks through. It could also create pathways between music and other creative sectors such as gaming, film, and extended reality, strengthening the UK’s position in the global music market.
View original technical description
Transforming Liverpool City Region (LCR) into a Global Leader in Music Innovation Music is a universal language and cultural necessity delivering multigenerational societal benefits. It is a unique source of national pride, creating unforgettable moments and uniting people across diverse backgrounds and interests. The music sectors delivering these experiences are currently exposed to tectonic technological and socio-economic change. Over the next five years, MusicFutures will seize this transformative moment to establish Liverpool as the UK’s creative cluster for music and music business innovation. The cluster will drive artistic, technological and intellectual property (IP) breakthroughs that will diversify and strengthen the UK’s position at the forefront of the global music industry. As England’s only UNESCO City of Music, Liverpool is uniquely positioned to leverage its cultural heritage, strong industry infrastructure, and creative energy to become a sustainable, inclusive, and world-leading Music RD&I ecosystem. Industry Context The UK music industry contributes £6.7 billion to the economy, provides 210,000 jobs, and generates £4 billion in exports. However, this success masks systemic challenges that hinder musicians and freelancers from building sustainable careers. Government reports highlight a decline in grassroots venues and touring, which are crucial for nurturing new talent and community engagement. Inequities in copyright and contracts, and a lack of transparency in rights management and royalty distribution, create additional barriers for music makers. The precarity of working across “gig economies” worsens these issues, making it particularly challenging for artists, small businesses, and marginalised communities to achieve success. The result is strained talent pipelines and the inability of new voices to break through. In this challenging environment, disruptive technologies like AI, XR, and blockchain present a pivotal and urgent opportunity to revolutionise music creation, distribution, and monetisation. By harnessing these technologies, artists can engage with their audiences in unprecedented ways, and retain more control over their creative output and resulting financial success. However, the potential of these technologies can only be realised if the industry and policymakers actively work to ensure equitable access and develop frameworks that support a diverse and inclusive music ecosystem. The UK music sector operates within broader global industry trends where domestically produced music earns an ever-increasing share of national charts, and cities/regions within nations promote bespoke musical identities and industry credentials. Given these dynamics, a key R&D question emerges: How can regional music innovation ecosystems incubate and enable cutting-edge artistic and technical practices that drive business growth and elevate the UK’s leadership in the global music industry? Regional Opportunity Liverpool has continuously pioneered and shaped global pop culture. Boasting the most UK number-one records and more than 1,400 music businesses, Liverpool’s music sector and global brand is ideally positioned for MusicFutures to catalyse innovation and growth within and beyond the region, and bridge sectoral gaps in the Creative Cluster/CoSTAR network, creating essential musical pathways into other creative sectors such as gaming, film, and XR. What We Will Do MusicFutures will launch a waterfront hub, fostering collaboration with 27 partners to generate sector insights and career pathways for artists and future music professionals. This environment will empower SMEs and entrepreneurs to innovate, attract investment, scale up, and adopt sustainable practices. Through diverse cross-sector programmes, we will fuel growth, drive environmental innovation, and champion inclusivity. MusicFutures will elevate both the region's and the UK's competitiveness in the global music market.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know