Concerns about recent DCMS live music statistics continue to be raised in Parliament.

Two new Written Questions have been tabled, this time by Lord Colwyn:

... to ask Her Majesty's Government, with regard to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport report Live Music: An Analysis of the Sector, of 28 January, (a) what is the definition of the term "professional musician", and (b) how many professional musicians are included in the total of "those employed in live music performance" in 2006 and 2008. [DCMS] HL2477

... to ask Her Majesty's Government what are the dates of the research sources for the numbers of professional musicians in 2006 and 2008 cited in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's report Live Music: An Analysis of the Sector under the heading "increases in those performing music-are there more musicians?". [DCMS] HL2478

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldcumlst.htm [search on page for 'Colwyn']

The questions, which should be answered within two weeks, follow yesterday's revelation that the UK Statistics Authority is now investigating DCMS live music statistics.

In the report cited by Lord Colwyn, DCMS claim that the number of professional musicians rose by 20% between 2006 and 2008:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/Increases_in_live_music_between_2005_and_2009.pdf [see p4]

However, it emerged last month that these figures, lifted by DCMS without verification from research published online by the Creative and Cultural Skills Council, included a large number of non-musicians and was sourced from 2004 and 2006. Link to CCSC music research:

http://www.ccskills.org.uk/Industrystrategies/Industryresearch/tabid/600/Default.aspx [see Music 06-07 and 08-09]

Phil Little's original Live Music Forum has published a comprehensive dissection of the DCMS live music claims by the Welwyn Hatfield Live Music Forum: http://www.livemusicforum.co.uk/ [middle of home page]

ENDS

Hamish Birchall