'With the scale of Labour’s victory there is a big opportunity': UK Music CEO

Just days after being appointed CEO of UK Music, Tom Kiehl invited Headliner to the industry trade body’s London HQ for an in-depth chat about stepping up to the role after numerous stints as interim chief, what he has learned from his predecessors, and the many opportunities and challenges facing the music business…

It’s one week after his appointment as UK Music CEO and one week before the organisation’s packed out summer party when Headliner takes a seat opposite Tom Kiehl. And just days before we meet, the UK voted to dispense with a Conservative government that had been in place for the past 14 years in favour of a Labour party riding the wave of a landslide victory. As such, the mood of optimism and hope for change is one that informs much of our conversation, while the celebratory summer party seven days later fizzes with similar sentiments.

Leading the charge on this front is Labour MP and new minister for the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media, and Sport) Sir Chris Bryant, whose speech on the transformative power of music at the annual gathering is particularly well received by the artists, music industry leaders, and fellow politicians in the room.

And in his inaugural address as UK Music CEO, Kiehl took the opportunity to highlight the vast contribution the music industry makes to the nation’s economy (£7 billion) each year, pointing the 210,000 jobs it supports and a £4 billion export market.

When we join him at the organisation’s offices seven days earlier his manner is measured. He's acutely aware of the opportunities that arrive with a new government, but equally aware of the scale of the task ahead. Since joining UK Music over 12 years ago, serving under four CEOs and on multiple occasions as interim boss, he knows perhaps better than anyone else precisely what the role entails and the challenges that accompany it.

“I’m really looking forward to it, especially now with big political change and a new government with 300 or so new MPs,” Kiehl smiles. “There’s an opportunity to really influence that change, and there is an excellent team here at UK Music, so it feels like there’s a really big opportunity ahead of us. It couldn’t come at a better time.”

Prior to his arrival at UK Music, Kiehl worked in the Liberal Democrats whip’s office for over a decade, experiencing politics both in government during the coalition years, as well as in opposition. And in his time at UK Music, he has served under CEOs with backgrounds in music (Feargal Sharkey), the media (Jo Dipple), the Labour party (Michael Dugher), and most recently the Conservatives (Jamie Njoku-Goodwin), gaining a genuinely unique view on how best to lead the organisation.

“I’m the fifth CEO and each one has had very different perspectives and backgrounds,” says Kiehl. “First you had Feargal Sharkey who was a brilliant frontman for the organisation, bringing everyone together. You really need that strength of personality. I was hired by Jo Dipple who was great at consolidating the organisation after it was set up in the first place. Then you had Michael Dugher bringing in a focus on public perception and the way we communicate our message. And Jamie came from a government background but a different colour of government.

“My own background before UK Music is that I worked in parliament for 11 years so I have a lot of policy and legislation background. I have an understanding of the party machinery and how to influence things both from an opposition perspective as well as a government perspective. Being able to manage political change is something I have worked on a lot and having worked with these great CEOs I want to bring my own vision and direction to UK Music at this key moment.”

While the instalment of a new government undoubtedly presents a chance to communicate the work of UK Music and the needs of the music industry to hundreds of fresh faces, ensuring that they are able to hear and understand the message amid the various voices competing for their attention is a major task.

“There is a lot of good will for music as a concept in parliament, and we need to take that good will and make the government take it seriously,” Kiehl explains. “We need to identify each and every MP and make them understand that they have a reason to support music. There might be a venue or a music focused project in their constituency and it’s vital we tap into that and make MPs aware regardless of their political colours.

“There has been a lot of volatility over the last few years, and whoever is in government, when it’s been for such a long time you can get used to a certain way of working. That’s not necessarily saying Labour will be better than the Conservatives, but it’s about how we can use this as a moment to reset that relationship. Chris Bryant has been named Minister of State in the DCMS, which is a really good appointment for us as he's someone we’ve worked with for a number of years. He knows the brief very well. And Lisa Nandy, the new Secretary of State at DCMS, is someone we’ve worked with previously, so there are some good connections with the new administration.”

When we move our conversation on to Kiehl’s top priorities in his new role the answers are somewhat predictable: Brexit and AI.

“We need to get an overarching strategy in place to bind government closer to the music industry,” he asserts. “The commitment in the Labour party manifesto around looking at touring in light of Brexit and the relationship with the EU is a priority we must focus on.

“With the scale of Labour’s victory there is a big opportunity. If Labour had a smaller majority there might be less of a willingness to enter into negotiations on something like this, as there may be concerns that a more Eurosceptic government might get elected in the short term. But because they have such a big majority they may be able to plan for a degree of continuity over perhaps two elections. That might create some more willingness from the EU institutions themselves. There is a review mechanism within the agreement with the EU coming up in a couple of years’ time. We don’t know what that review will hold, but it might open up that wider discussion.

“But there are challenges,” he continues. “There is the whole idea of freedom of movement and not wanting to open that up, which is not something Labour wants to do. What we’ve been calling for is a bespoke agreement that can look at things like carnets and waivers. There’s lots to be done.”

And on the subject of AI?

“For the past two years it’s been the No.1 issue for us in terms of how we approach it as an organisation, the policy approach, and the solutions that we need,” he says. “We worked with the all-party parliamentary group just before the election on its report, which set out a number recommendations on things that could change, some of which needs to be done at international level, but also at UK level.

“In the EU they have a regulatory AI act in place, whereas in the UK we don’t have an equivalent yet, so having an AI law that looks at the creative is important. We are all learning all the time about AI and our knowledge is growing, but ultimately we need to make sure that creators are paid and that the industry can continue to thrive. And there is concern around generative AI and the way that new music can be created out of other pieces of music without permission. That is a fundamental concern.”

Another significant issue for Kiehl and UK Music is the grassroots live music sector. For many years, grassroots venues have been engaged in an ongoing fight for survival, but since Covid the community has been suffering its worst plight in decades, with the cost-of-living crisis compounding the significant challenges of astronomical business rates and a perceived lack of support from the top tier of the industry.

“Grassroots is incredibly important to the music industry,” he states. “There have been a lot of discussions in recent months regarding a levy on tickets and that’s something we are broadly supportive of, although from our perspective we have to make sure there is a mechanism to deliver that to make sure the venues and artists benefit from that.

“With government and the interventions they could make, legislation could be key around Agent of Change, which is a campaign we acted on previously around planning laws and making sure developers can’t undermine a music venue and ensure that the existing rights of businesses to operate are protected. That could be stronger. And government is talking about house building targets - they have very big objectives on the number of new homes to build, and that in turn could present some challenges to the planning system. In order for that to work from our perspective there may need to be some stronger protections in that regard.

“There is also the work the music industry is doing. We’re very supportive of the efforts of organisations like Music Venue Trust and LIVE to reach some kind of settlement around business rates and things like that.

“There is a relationship between the bigger venues and the grassroots that definitely needs to be supported. The grassroots scene is also not just about the talent pipeline, it’s about audiences as well, and different venues appeal to different audiences. There are some people who might go to arena shows who will never visit a grassroots venue, and there are others who would never dream of going to an arena or stadium show. They need to be catered for accordingly.”

With a busy schedule ahead, we have just enough time to raise the streaming debate and the lack of earnings that is not only threatening to force artists out of the music industry but preventing the next generation – particularly those who aren’t from financially privileged background – from entering it in the first place.

“It’s a challenging issue for us because we represent a number of different voices in that debate,” says Kiehl. “Of course, we’ve been engaged in it and there are several different working groups that we sit on and are participating on, but in terms of creative remuneration, that work is ongoing. We’re keen to work with our members on that particular issue.

“We want music to be as attractive an industry to work in as possible, whether at creator level or at a music business level. And we want to make sure we are a sector that can support talent and that everyone has the opportunity to develop their career.”