Live music overtakes record sales

By Georgie Rogers 6 Music News reporter

Radiohead are currently working on new material for their eighth album

The value of the live music scene has overtaken that of recordings, according to the Performing Rights Society (PRS).

Figures state the recorded music industry generated �896m during 2008.

This compares with the estimated worth of the live music, increasingly vital for new and established bands, which amounted to an estimated �904m.

The PRS, which collects royalties for live and recorded music on behalf of artists and writers, called the landmark a "changing of the guard".

Speaking to BBC 6 Music, the organisation's chief economist, Will Page, said: "We've been doing some maths back at the office.

We now have a situation where live has officially taken over recorded PRS chief economist, Will Page

"We have all the data on live music at the PRS because we license all the live performances that go around the country, so we're actually able to put a number on how much live music is worth."

For their final calculations, Mr Page explained the number crunchers had factored in VAT and booking fees before "we came to a number of �904m".

"We now have a situation where live has officially taken over recorded," he added.

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