Brexit Breakdown

“The challenge is to seize the opportunity sectors in the British economy and prioritize them in future trade deals and in the new industrial strategy. The creative industries are a massive opportunity for the UK government,” John Kampfner, the Federation’s chief executive, said. Among many things, the report suggests providing young people with the skills needed for jobs in the creative sector, creating a visa system fit for the 21st century and working out which existing EU funds to the UK’s creative sector need to be replaced by national programs post-Brexit.

Other concerns raised by the federation include costs caused by increased administration for exporting British acts as well as importing non-UK acts. Pollstar spoke to one of the UK’s industry icons, Glastonbury talent buyer Martin Elbourne, at this year’s BIME in Bilbao.

Elbourne recalled the time he was an agent, “around 30 years ago, when we used to have to get work permits and carnets. Every time you crossed the border you had to wait for the customs guys to come along and check your equipment, and tick it off. And when you left the country they had to tick it off again.

“You couldn’t just assume you could drive from Amsterdam to Hamburg in a day. You might be held up in a queue.” Things won’t return to where they were, however, as there is still the Schengen zone, an area in Europe without border controls, which was established in 1995. It may reduce the number of checkpoints for UK artists touring Europe to one. “So, we’re probably one of the least affected industries by it. We’ll be able to cope with it. It’s a classic example of something that’s irritating,” Elbourne said, but emphasized: “I was totally against Brexit. I think it’s nonsense. I still don’t think it’s going to happen, by the way. I think there were so many lies told during this campaign.”

Jo Dipple, chief executive of UK Music, said: “The UK music business derives more than half its revenue from exports, to the tune of £2.2 billion last year, so our future is dependent on securing favorable trading conditions with overseas territories. The government has limited time to understand business needs so it should use the Creative Industries Federation Brexit Report to inform decision-making which will affect our prospects for decades to come. So government, please read this document and make well-informed decisions on behalf of creative businesses in the UK.”

The full report can be downloaded here.