The Week in Light & Sound
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Concerts brought in £1 billion in 2016, over £300m more than recorded music - which includes sales of CDs, vinyl, downloads and streaming.
In total, 30.9 million tickets were sold for concerts and festivals in 2016, up from 27.7 million in 2015, but UK Music warned that the closure of small venues posed a threat to up-and-coming artists.
"Live music did have another great year," said CEO Michael Dugher. "But future talent will never get the chance to shine if we continue to see cuts in music in schools and closures in venues where artists need to learn their craft in the first place."
He also repeated calls for artists to be fairly compensated for their music - singling out media giants YouTube and Facebook for criticism. "Unlike the subscription services, those platforms often offer little adequate reward to the investors and creators of the 'content' - i.e. the music - that drives so much of their traffic," he said.
The report noted that YouTube was the most popular way to consume music in the UK, with 31% of the population using it at least once a week.The company recently defended its royalty rates, claiming it pays around $3 (£2.20) for every 1,000 ad-supported streams in the US.
Royal Appointment - Birmingham Conservatoire has been granted a royal title by the Queen. Joining a select list of performing arts institutions, the music and drama academy will be renamed the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The news comes as Birmingham City University's new £57m home for Birmingham Conservatoire opens its doors to new students.
Julian Lloyd Webber, principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, said: "With our new name and suitably magnificent new home we intend to set the global benchmark for music and drama education and performance. This is a hugely significant moment for music and drama education in the UK. The royal title bears testimony to the value the Conservatoire rightly places on the importance of the performing arts in all our lives."
The annual MOBO Awards are to return to Leeds' First Direct Arena on 29 November, its founder has announced. The event, which celebrates the best in urban music, was first held in the city in 2015 and saw performances from artists including FKA twigs, Ella Eyre and CeeLo Green. London, Liverpool and Glasgow have also previously hosted the awards, which has reached its 22nd ceremony.
Founder Kanya King said it promised to be "another exciting celebration". MOBO is expected to announce the line-up of artists for the ceremony over the coming weeks, with tickets for the awards going on sale on Friday.
Radio Stars - Sir Terry Wogan has been named the greatest BBC radio presenter of the last 50 years in a Radio Times poll of radio experts. Sir Terry presented Radio 2's breakfast show for 28 years in total. John Peel, who discovered dozens of new bands during his long BBC career, was in second place. The top 10 includes four women - Woman's Hour presenters Jane Garvey and Jenni Murray, its former presenter Sue MacGregor and DJ Annie Nightingale. Kenny Everett, who was sacked by both Radio 1 and Radio 2, came sixth on the list.
(Jim Evans)
