Published
Thu, Mar 18, 2021, 09:28
- The group claim short-term support is needed to prevent risking the global standing of UK music.
The Council Of Music Makers is calling on the UK government to subsidise post-Brexit touring costs.
The Council Of Music Makers (CMM) warns that the future of UK music is under threat if the government doesn't offer support to touring musicians later in 2021 and 2022, when Covid-19 restrictions allow. CMM claims that the extra permit and visa costs of touring in Europe, as well as the lengthy bureaucracy, will have a knock-on effect on the UK music industry as a whole, as it will no longer be a viable profession for some artists.
The CMM acknowledges recent support like the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, furlough and the Culture Recovery Fund, but says "there is a further, immediate crisis for these workers now facing another blow due to Brexit disarray."
"Not only does live performance create critical revenue for performers and their teams," state the CMM, "it also acts to fuel the creation of the music that sits at the core of our recorded industry. We need urgent help now to ensure British talent is not blocked from growing their audiences internationally in the short term which brings long term implications on loss of future revenue."
According to the CMM, British artists played over 20,000 shows in Europe in 2019, in turn employing more than 30,000. It compares the music industry with the fishing industry, which it says employs less than half the amount of people the music industry does, but has received a 23 million pound transition support package.
The UK Council Of Music Makers consists of the Featured Artists Coalition, The Ivors Academy, Music Managers Forum, The Music Producers Guild and the Musicians' Union.
Read more about the Council Of Music Makers.