Music: essential to Europe’s cultural diversity and competitiveness

The music sector is an essential component of Europe’s cultural diversity, social inclusiveness and soft power diplomacy.

Beyond it cultural and social importance it has strong economic significance and is the second largest music market worldwide after the United States of America.

Among the cultural and creative sectors, the music sector has been one the first and one of the most affected by digitalisation. In the context of the digital shift and of increased competition from global players, the music sector is in constant transformation. Over the past decade, this has led to fundamental changes in the way music is created, produced, distributed and monetised, with streaming being now the main channel for listening to music.

This situation has created opportunities as well as challenges at all levels of the music value chain. Some examples:

• revenue sharing and the fair remuneration of artists
• the need to develop more digital and business skills for artists

In addition, the live music sector has recently been impacted by restrictions due to COVID-19 , inflation, sector concentration which put in danger the diversity of players at local, national and European levels.

Music Moves Europe – an integrated approach

The European Commission supports the sector within an integrated approach called 'Music Moves Europe' based on the result of the 2018-2020 preparatory action of the same name.

Music Moves Europe (MME) aims at promoting a sustainable European music ecosystem and supporting the sector’s main assets: diversity, competitiveness and innovation. Strategically, MME will contribute to achieving the EU’s overall political priorities and the culture Compass.

The approach includes policy initiatives and dialogue with the sector and funding though Creative Europe in particular.

Structured dialogue with the music sector

The European Commission maintains a structured dialogue with the music sector. The dialogue sessions address topics ranging from the greening of the music sector, fair remuneration in the streaming era, ethical use of technologies, as well as music and education.

A consortium of 6 well-established music conferences led by Eurosonic Noorderslag (Netherlands) organise these sessions.

Between 2023-2026 they are organising 2 EU level conferences and around 10 sessions in well-established European music conferences.

Creative Europe support to the music sector

The Creative Europe programme’s Culture strand addresses the above-mentioned challenges through a mix of horizontal and targeted funding. More than €140 million (26% of its total budget) was spent on music initiatives over the 2021- 2025 period.

The programme supports projects and actions that contribute to the international visibility and mobility of European music artists. It also supports those actions that strengthen creation and reinforce the capacities and the competitiveness of the music sectors (publishing, recording, streaming and live) through cooperation at European level.

European cooperation projects

Support to cooperation projects is the pillar funding scheme of the Creative Europe’s Culture strand.

Between 2021 and 2025, over 140cooperation projects active in the field of music were funded out of a total of 700. This amounts to almost €63 million for the music sector = 19% of the total EU grant supporting this action.

European networks

European networks connect stakeholders across the European cultural landscape to strengthen the competitiveness and diversity of the European cultural and creative sectors. In 2024, out of the 39 networks selected, 13 were music networks.

This amounts to €17 million, representing almost 39% of the total budget of this initiative. These 13 music networks cover the entire music value chain, including managers, festivals, music venues, artists, and other related entities.

European platforms for the promotion of emerging artists

These platforms support and promote new and emerging talents across Europe. They provide artists with opportunities for exposure, professional development, and networking, enabling them to gain visibility and enhance their careers on both European and international stages.

In 2024, 7 music platforms were financed out of 19 platforms. This amounts to over € 16 million representing 33% of the total budget for this initiative. They are instrumental in fostering cultural diversity and ensuring that emerging artists have the support needed to thrive in a dynamic and competitive environment.

Culture Moves Europe

Culture Moves Europe offers mobility grants to artists and cultural professionals across all Creative Europe countries. Between 2022 and 2025, Culture Moves Europe provided mobility grants worth €21 million to over 7 000 artists, cultural professionals, and host organisations. Around 18% of the individual mobility and residency projects supported under Culture Moves Europe were in the field of music.

Pan-European Cultural Entities (Orchestras)

This action supports orchestras that cultivate emerging musical talent, expand access to culture and engage diverse audiences.

In 2024, the action granted around €11 million to 5 Pan-European Cultural Entities.

Music Moves Europe Awards

The Music Moves Europe Awards is the EU prize for emerging European musicians. The awards promote the richness of the European repertoire, foster the competitiveness of the European music industry, and contribute to the greening of the music sector by encouraging sustainable touring.