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Music industry responds to solid Conservative win in UK general election
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 13 December 2019
So that happened then, didn’t it? ‘Boris’ Johnson securing himself a damn big majority in the good old House Of Commons, I mean. No, you didn’t dream it. It did happen. Some of the music industry’s trade bodies have already responded to it. Just to confirm that it definitely did happen.
Last night’s result in the UK general election means Britain’s Prime Minister and Bullshitter-In-Chief can now plough ahead with his big Brexit plan. And whichever of his other proposals weren’t total and utter bullshit. Which is possibly none of them. But then again, “getting Brexit done” involves a whole lot more work than Team Johnson has let on, so maybe it doesn’t matter that everything else was bullshit.
It’s probably fair to say that the majority of the music community is somewhat dismayed at the big result. But the music industry’s trade bodies and lobbyists have to get ready to deal with the newly empowered Johnson government and a more right wing Parliament. And, in the short term – with Brexit now definitely getting underway in the new year – with helping artists and music companies, especially grassroots talent and independent businesses, deal with everything that will inevitably throw up.
Commenting on the result, the boss of record industry trade group BPI, Geoff Taylor, said this morning: “This clear result should help move the country beyond the Brexit impasse and provide the UK with a much-needed period of political stability. We hope the government will use this platform to deliver a trade deal with the EU that minimises barriers to trade, including simple travel arrangements for UK performers, and new trade deals with third countries to boost our music exports”.
“The UK music industry is a fantastic success story both here at home and around the world”, Taylor added, getting his pitch in quick with the new powers that be. “If the relentless creativity and commercial ingenuity of our artists and labels can be backed by the incoming government with some simple but effective support, we can take this success to the next level; growing our international trade, supporting access to music in schools, and boosting the industry’s contribution to employment and the economy by better protecting the valuable IP we create. We congratulate the new administration and we will be actively engaging with them on this agenda”.
Speaking for the indie music community, the boss of the Association Of Independent Music, Paul Pacifico, added: “We know from this result that the process towards Brexit will now accelerate. It is AIM’s priority to ensure our members are as prepared as possible. The unfortunate truth is that the grassroots SMEs and entrepreneurs of our economy face the greatest impact on their businesses, so we call on this new government to give our members the support they need to ensure we avoid a Brexit that just suits big business”.
“With a strong majority and the opportunity for a fresh start”, he went on, “we look forward to engaging with the new government across our key issues for creative entrepreneurs in music including copyright and support mechanisms for small business in our sector which is so important to the UK both in terms of commerce and culture”.
And with those statements delivered, let this new era of Brexit, ‘Boris’ and Bullshit-ism begin.
