The music industry is dying! There was a time when record sales provided the main income for artists and labels, then CDs became the norm, but like records, they produced the same level of income. Then along came media players like iPod and Archaos, (which was better).
With the media players came MP3s and the ability to “rip” CDs, then came Napster, limewire Limewire, etc. People could still buy records, CDs and iTunes, but with the file sharing file-sharing sites. the rot set in. Gone were the days of paying £12-15 for an album, you could download an entire artist’s back catalog catalogue for nothing.
So, with that happening, artists and labels had to find alternative ways of making money, Everyone loved seeing their favourite live bands, so bands started touring more, shows got bigger, and with more lights, sounds, videos, cameras, visuals, and stages that were thrust out into the audience, so that the artist could strut their stuff, it was great.
Over time ticket prices crept up to cover the cost of all the extras, merch sales were another great revenue stream, but T-shirts went from a tenner to over £30 nowadays.
The music industry was on the road, and fans loved it. Festivals popped up all over the place, as a touring video tech, I’ve been to more festivals around the planet than you could shake a stick at, from Fujirock in Japan to Big Day Out, around Australia, to Lamalaloosa in Chile.
UK techs became synonymous with putting on quality shows with the best kit, the best truck and busses. Bands from the States, Australia, and the Far East would come to the UK to pick up UK techs and kit to do their European tours. The bands were happy, the fans were happy, we were happy, the treasury was happy. In 2019 we brought in over £5.9bn to the UK economy.
The effect of Brexit
The writing was on the wall, the morning after the referendum I was stunned at what had happened, I could see what was going to happen, and it had happened. The Brexit deal negotiated by @DavidGHFrost was the hardest Brexit there could be, even he admitted: “we might have been too purist”. It meant huge restrictions on trucking with having to do carnets, cabotage restricting truck movements, new rules of origin affecting merch sales, 27 different rules on work permits and visas, and the worst problem of all, the dreaded 90/180-day rule for accessing the Schengen area.
There is so much new red tape to deal with, that UK artists and bands are really struggling to make touring the EU a viable proposition. Many quite well-known bands have simply given up, they just can’t make it work. Bands from further afield are now avoiding the UK, because of the red tape.
For me and thousands of other crew, drivers, dancers, and musicians, it’s a bloody disaster! Those bands that used to come here to pick up the talented crew, the excellent kit, are simply just not coming anymore. Instead, they pick up EU crew and kit. It’s a huge loss for us, the music industry and the treasury!
Smaller UK artists and bands just starting out used to use the EU as a stepping stone to the wider markets, and vice versa, EU-based artists and bands used the UK as a stepping stone to those same markets! Collaborations between artists from both the EU and UK are also at risk.
It didn’t have to be this way, the EU wanted to include mobility in the negotiations with the UK but we turned it down, It didn’t fit with taking back control of our borders!
Moreover, Frost and Johnson didn’t even know music touring existed or couldn’t care less about the damage it would cause. I did a recent survey of UK touring techs, 85% have no work, usually, we wouldn’t be seen for dust at this time of year!
And what else?
What else is killing music? Well, Truss and Kwarteng’s little experiment with the economy resulted in the biggest cost of living crisis ever, rents up, rates up, energy costs through the roof, and mortgages up, which means that people can’t afford frivolous luxuries like buying gig tickets.
Grass roots venues are closing because they cannot afford the costs of running, with ticket sales down, bands can’t make money. The perfect storm, brought about by technology but finished off by Brexit!
We can only hope that @UKLabour can pull some pretty substantive cats out of the bag and fix the issues properly.
