UK Music Meets With Culture Secretary

UK Music’s chief executive, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has shared his reaction following a meeting this week between music industry leaders and Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden.

“The UK music industry has always been a global success story and post-Brexit we should be doing everything we can to help our world-leading musical talent tour abroad and fly the flag for Britain,” said Njoku-Goodwin.

“But the prospect of additional costs and red tape is already deterring many musicians from touring the continent in the future – which is a huge loss both our country and to Europe.

“As an industry, we aren’t interested in playing a blame game. We just want to reach a solution that enables us to continue delivering the positive benefits for the UK that we always have done.

"So it was welcome to hear the Government’s commitment to working to reach a solution, but we will continue to press for action that resolves the challenges our industry is facing from Brexit.

“With the fishing industry, the Government has shown a willingness to help key national industries adjust to new export requirements. As a £5.8 billion industry that supports 200,00 jobs and generates £2.9 billion in exports, the music industry must also be supported through these challenges.”

UK Music recently put forward a comprehensive plan on ways to get the live music sector back on its feet, specifically with the summer music festival season in mind.

“Live music is the beating heart of the UK music industry,” stressed Njoku-Goodwin. “It generates billions of pounds for the economy every year, supports thousands of jobs across the country, and draws millions of music tourists to all four corners of the UK.

Check out UK Music's plan to get the live music sector back on its feet, here.