On 19 March 2026, a cohort of industry leaders and members of parliament and the House of Lords gathered to launch UK Music’s official Black Music Means Business report at Speaker’s House. The report highlights the black contribution to
The report highlights the massive black contribution to the £30 billion UK music industry, a staggering 80%.
The gathering was addressed by Parliamentary Labour MP Dawn Butler. Here are a few highlights of what she had to say:
“…the thing is you might know it but there’s other people who not only didn’t know it but also denied it so what you’re doing now is saying factually look how much money black music as to the industry 80% that is how much that is how big it is and why do i think it’s important now i think it’s important now because as the ai industries are scraping music you’ve got to understand what they’re scraping and who’s going to lose the most…”
“So history is there. It is already written. It’s where the people are ready to receive it and understand it. And I think this report helps people to understand it. So I want to say thank you so much to UK Music for everything that you’ve done…”
“Understand that the role that you’ve all played in this room, whether you are DJs, whether you are musicians, whether you are family members, whether you’ve played music, You know, social media has meant that the gatekeepers no longer hold all of the cards. And we, together, can highlight that black music means business.”
You can find out more and read the full report here.