Will Page, Chief Economist at PRS for Music, has urged the music industry to ‘get small and get abroad’.

Talking at the annual Adding up the UK music industry event, and drawing from the associated economic paper, he told delegates that they should look to streamline the way they deal with metadata and explore ways of growing the presence of UK music overseas.

The term ‘get small’ refers to the need to refine the way data is processed – including physical and digital music data, live ticketing transactions and more. Page explained that too many resources are being allocated to this area and the industry should keep transaction costs in check to increase revenues for songwriters and publishers.

Page said that streamlining and standardisation would also make it easier for new companies to enter the industry, which in turn could help the market grow.

‘By looking at the four corners of this industry – PRS for Music, MPA, PPL, BPI – and highlighting the strength of exports from the UK, we can see overseas markets are really important too,’ he added. ‘We need to get the cost base down and the exports up.’

Emerging BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) make up nearly half of the world’s population, yet performing right collections are currently equal to Spain.

‘It’s important to be aware of the geo-political landscape and think about how to export music better,’ said Page.

The fourth edition of PRS for Music’s Adding up the UK music industry report found that total music revenues fell from £3.9bn in 2009 to £3.8bn last year, hit by a 7.3 percent drop in consumer revenues from the live and recorded music sectors.

However, Britain strengthened its position as a net exporter of music, outstripping even the US when compared on like-for-like terms.

Download the full economic paper here http://bit.ly/q5FdND