August 12, 2019

The BPI says that it believes that “music and the creative industries offer a great opportunity for the UK if our policymakers can create an environment in which creators can thrive”. It calls on the new Government’s support as follows:

• to provide certainty and a stable environment: BPI says that it is “essential” that the UK”s strong copyright regime remains stable and is not watered down in trade deals, particularly with the USA;
• to agree reciprocal arrangements on EU visa free travel: BPI says that musicians need to be able to work, tour and collaborate across the EU and its label members need to be able to plan campaigns for new releases;
• to boost UK investment in creativity: BPI says that extending the successful creative production tax credits to recorded music would “boost domestic investment, bring inward investment from artists recording here and boost our studio and electronics businesses”. The UK must be internationally competitive as a place to invest and record, it says;
• to work with BPI on a new, ambitious Music Export strategy to ensure the UK takes full advantage of rapid growth in developing markets: BPI notes that the Music Export Growth Scheme has been very successful in supporting early stage careers and helping independent UK artists promote their music overseas. The BPI says that the Government should now “examine what additional steps it can take to support breaking artists with the high costs of travel/visas and help them get quickly to overseas markets when data demonstrates there is the opportunity to nurture an international fanbase”;
• to ensure BPI’s music labels are able to export and import physical product: Given that the UK still has “a vibrant CD and vinyl market”, BPI says that physical product “needs to be able to flow between the UK and the EU without hold ups or additional costs”; and
• to work with BPI to turbo charge UK creative industry growth by strengthening IP enforcement: BPI says that the Government “must ensure that online platforms agree new measures to significantly reduce piracy on their services through the Creative Industries Sector Deal”. The Online Harms White Paper should lead to a future regime where rights owners, platforms, search engines and online marketplaces work closely together to reduce the economic harm caused by illegal content.