According to Classic Rock magazine and a survey that was published a possible Brexit will affect music and its industry to the countries of the commonwealth. According to Geoff Taylor, president of BPI (British Phonography Industry) “Europe matters for British music”. The revenue from music tourism in Great Britain in 2014 was approximately 3 billion pounds, while last year one out of four albums released in the European market were recorded by British artists. Plus, on quarter of the British record companies income comes from Europe. Also, 78% of British record companies’ representatives don’t want a Brexit.
Are CD’s price going up? According to Karen Emanuel from Key Production that manufactures CD, vinlyl and merchandise nothing is certain at the moment, but it’s possible that CD’s and vinyls might take longer to make and sell more expensive, because there are only two factories in Britain at the moment and most of the production takes place in European countries.
Are concert tickets prices going up? There is no legislation that leads to a rise in ticket prices, says Andy Copping from Live Nation, but everything depends on the currency between pounds and dollars. If the pound drops then concert promoters will have to pay more artists and bands so accordingly concert tickets will be more expensive that they are today.
Is it going to be harder for bands to tour? Again, the currency ratio is key here, as Sharon Richardson from Factory Music points out. If the pound drops then possibly a lot of European and American artists might not prefer to play in Britain. Also, according to the British Music Union it might be hard for British touring musicians to acquire visas and travel in Europe. Bernie Torme (ex-Gillan guitarist) says that a Brexit is not for Britain. In his opinion a Brexit will increase expenses in touring and eventually will make it harder as it’s possible that there will be import taxes for goods coming from Europe, which will affect the sales of merchandise for small/medium artists and bands.
Would it be harder for British people to attend festivals in Europe? Again, this is something that depends on pound’s value over Euro, but as Karen Emanuel points out travel expenses are going to rise as well: “at the moment it’s not so expensive to travel to Europe, but we must not forget that as a member of the European Union we enjoy other benefits, such as medical insurance within the Eurozone.
Will merchandise be more expensive? Karen Emanuel says that since the materials are bought from countries of the EU, where production most often takes place British companies will have a hard time if they have to buy everything from Britain. “Our factories are expensive and not even enough”.
