Music Business

To prop up my credibility as a supposed financial commentator, I thought that this week I should undertake some hard economic data analysis. With that in mind I recently came across the above bar chart, which measures British economic performance by decade over the last hundred years. Despite my lack of formal economic training, it seems clear to me that the variations in the levels of GDP precisely correlate with the quality of Great Britain’s output of pop music from each particular decade.

I’m not sure which way round the relationship between GDP and pop would work in terms of cause and effect. Perhaps having great music playing on the radio in offices and factories motivates people to work harder and boosts productivity. Or maybe a solid economic foundation gives more people the courage to become musicians, rather than get themselves proper jobs. Plus a wealthier population is able to support the artistes of the day by buying more records, going to more gigs and purchasing more merchandise.