LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The UK music business turned out to be one of the few fiscal bright spots and royalty collection agency reported that UK artists earned $205 million last year, up from $178 million in 2007.
The boost resulted in part from tours by major UK artists including The Police, Iron Maiden and Coldplay, the BBC reported. A lion's share of this lucre came from the US market which accounted for $30 million, followed by Germany at $22 million and France at $16 million.
A spokesman for the royalty collection society PRS noted to the BBC that this trend is nothing new and international royalties for UK artists have more than doubled from £68m to £139.6m since 1999.
"I think there's a combination of things – I think British music's being used more," PRS for Music head of PR Barney Hooper told the BBC News website.
"I think we're also getting better at liaising with our equivalent societies around the world for collecting." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
