The Musicians Union

What The Musicians Union does

The Musicians' Union (MU) is a UK trade union representing over 36,000 musicians working across all sectors of the UK music industry. Founded in 1893 (per firmographic data; 1897 per company history), the union is headquartered in London at 30 Snowsfields with regional teams covering Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, plus a committee structure across England. Its core proposition is collective representation — negotiating collective bargaining agreements with broadcasters, orchestras, and other employers — combined with a comprehensive suite of member services including legal advice and assistance, contract advisory, unpaid fee recovery, royalty collection (MU Royalties distributes £1.5M–£2M annually to musicians for secondary use of recordings), a multi-product insurance stack (public liability, professional indemnity, instrument, personal accident, tax investigation), a pension scheme, grants, hearing health support, and an extensive library of standard contracts and specimen agreements.

The business model is subscription-based recurring membership, with tiered offerings including Standard, Student, Joint, Disabled Musicians, and Refugee Musicians memberships, plus a promotional rate of £1 for the first six months. Members range across music educators, orchestral musicians, session musicians, live performers, composers, and songwriters. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the website, member referrals, regional committees, and public campaigns (Fix Streaming, AI and Music Industry, Fair Pay, Climate Action). The union is member-owned and democratically governed under an elected General Secretary (Naomi Pohl, since 2022), an Executive Committee, and a Members' Assembly; there is no external capital, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. Reported outcomes include over £3M returned to musicians through MU support in 2025.

Name

The Musicians Union

Legal name

Musicians Union

Website

https://musiciansunion.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Musicians' Union is a UK trade union representing over 36,000 musicians, providing collective bargaining, legal advice, contract review, royalty collection, and insurance through tiered subscription memberships, headquartered in London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Union Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

Keywords

• Trade union services
• Musician collective bargaining
• Music industry advocacy
• Musician legal services
• Music professional representation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: The Musicians' Union generates revenue through membership subscriptions. Members pay recurring fees to join and maintain membership, with various tiers including student, joint, disabled musicians, and refugee musicians memberships. The union offers a promotional rate of £1 for the first six months.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Musicians' Union is a UK trade union that provides membership-based services to professional musicians, including collective bargaining representation, legal advice, contract advisory, unpaid fee recovery, royalty collection and distribution, and a portfolio of insurance products. Members access these services through recurring subscription fees across multiple membership tiers (standard, student, joint, disabled, and refugee). The union also advocates on musicians' rights issues including fair streaming royalties, AI copyright, and working conditions.

Product overview

The Musicians' Union is a trade union representing over 36,000 musicians in the UK, providing a comprehensive suite of member services rather than a commercial product platform. The core offerings include collective bargaining representation, legal advice and assistance, contract advisory services, royalty collection and distribution, and insurance products (public liability, professional indemnity, musical instrument, personal accident, and tax investigation insurance). The union also provides financial support through grants, a pension scheme, and the MU Royalties service which distributes £1.5 million to £2 million annually to musicians. Additional services include unpaid fee recovery, partnership advisory services, personal injury claims support, hearing health schemes, and extensive documentation including standard contracts and specimen agreements for various music industry scenarios.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MU Royalties

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £3 million returned to musicians through MU support in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (USC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026The MU formally affiliated to the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and is encouraging members to support a new aid appeal for schools and communities in eastern Ukraine.
• Kempston Street StudiosminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026The Musicians' Union partnered with Kempston Street Studios in Liverpool to offer members discounted studio time. This partnership provides MU members with preferential rates for recording studio access.
• American Federation of Musicians (AFM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The MU maintains international solidarity with the American Federation of Musicians, their US counterpart. MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl and Head of International Dave Webster attended the 103rd AFM Convention to share union solidarity and discuss common industrial issues including AI and streaming.
• European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The MU joined artists, songwriters, and music industry organisations worldwide in signing an open letter coordinated by EMMA calling for creators' rights to be respected in AI-related music deals.
• Car and Home Insurance ProviderminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNew MU partnership giving members access to specialist car and home insurance cover designed for musicians.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Songtrust: Global music publishing administrator providing royalty collection and rights management services to songwriters and publishers. Comparable in administering publishing and recording royalties at scale, and a potential competitor or partner to MU's royalty collection service.

Regional players

• PRS for Music: UK-based performing rights organization collecting and distributing royalties to songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Operates in the same UK music ecosystem as the MU and complements the MU's royalty collection service, though focused on rights rather than trade union representation.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited): UK music rights organization collecting royalties for the use of recorded music on behalf of record labels and performers. Comparable to the MU's secondary/further-use royalty collection activity but operating as a rights body rather than a union.
• GEMA: German collecting society and music rights organization representing composers, lyricists, and music publishers. Comparable in royalty administration and rights advocacy functions, though structured as a collecting society rather than a trade union.
• SACEM: French society of authors, composers and publishers of music. Comparable in performing rights administration and creator advocacy, focused on the French market but a natural European counterpart to MU's royalty and rights work.

Direct peers

• American Federation of Musicians: The US counterpart musicians' trade union, with whom the MU maintains formal international solidarity and joint advocacy on streaming and AI issues. Directly comparable in mission, member services (collective bargaining, contract templates, insurance), and constituency.

Others

• British Phonographic Industry (BPI): UK trade body representing record labels and the recorded music industry. Operates in an adjacent role within the UK music ecosystem, advocating on streaming economics and IP issues that intersect with MU's campaigns, though representing labels rather than musicians.

Broad incumbents

• SAG-AFTRA: A larger US performer union covering musicians along with actors, broadcasters, and recording artists. Comparable in providing collective bargaining, royalty/contract protection, and advocacy for performers, though significantly broader in scope than the MU.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WeAreTheMU
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1R2i1a5W29_Fk5DnKVvZ8w
• Facebookfacebook.com/musicians.union
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/musicians
• Instagraminstagram.com/musiciansunionuk
• TikToktiktok.com/@musiciansunion

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Musicians Union