A report that looks at policies for supporting and improving the 'status' of musicians. From the Musicians’ Union press release:

This report explores the status of music creators’ to the UK’s growing creative economy and uses the interchangeable terms “artists” and “creators” to cover all composers, songwriters and performers of musical work who create a new piece of intellectual property (IP), either in a new musical work or a new performance of a musical work.
John Smith, General Secretary of the Musicians’ Union, states: “The Musicians’ Union is delighted to have initiated the commission this report and congratulates its author, Andrew Missingham, on his clear and analytical description of the position of performers and music writers in today’s music industry and wider society. The recommendations that result from the research show a clear and sensible way forward which we hope that those who govern, regardless of political persuasion, will agree with and act upon.” “Successive UK governments have consistently voiced their active support for the creative industries and have recognised them as a prime economic driver in the 21st century. However, what they have yet to do is to improve the position of the original creators who provide the ‘fuel’ that drives such activity. UNESCO, in its ‘Status of the Artist’ treaty, acknowledged the position of artists to civilised society. It also recognised the unique social, economic and industrial circumstances that such individuals have to work and create in.
This report builds on the work already undertaken under the auspices of UNESCO in the 1980 Treaty and that produced by an associated UNESCO conference in 1997, which forwarded detailed recommendations on the implementation of ‘Status of the Artist’. Furthermore, it encourages our Government to adopt the Treaty and its recommendations and actively move them forward.

The full press release is at http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/site/cms/v4_newsArticleView.asp?article=654

http://www.britishacademy.com/downloads/pdfs/key%20issues/FINAL%20Status%20Quo%20Report.pdf