Brexit - impact on musicians, touring and the music/events industry

[editor]

He’ll come back with his band tours by train. Apart from the USA which can’t be toured by his band, except when they do and that was what was planned for 2021, but Brexit is the reason he ain’t touring…And Japan, which also can’t be toured cos only the EU can be toured.

Oh, so we're back to making it all personal again, no doubt to cover up the fact that you know fuck all about the situation facing small bands touring Europe right now,

So how many flights have you taken in the last 10 years?

 

[editor]

Auto-Tune has a lot to answer for.
But back to the musicians touring problem... I think the future is broadcasting to your audience via the wonder of the Internet. We don't go to the cinema and expect the actors to arrive on stage. There's no reason music can't go the same way.

Good job no one listens to your idiotic thoughts about the future of music. You may be a soulless, dead carcass with no ability to understand the pleasure, joy, beauty and need for people to gather together to listen to live music, but it's going to carry on long after you've slithered into a meaty grave.

I suppose churches, festivals, and sports events would also be banned under your Taliban-esque regime too, eh?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Someone will be along soon to say Sam Fox is irrelevant, slagging down true creatives who are out there doing the business, even if she is not to my taste I would not now dismiss the position she holds in the U.K. music scene.

 

[ska invita]

Clearly a very talented musician.

got that euro thing down

not just euro tbh - worldwide
I didnt know she was as big as this
"During the 80’s Sam was the most photographed British star, alongside Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. Not since the Beatles has a British personality been so well known all over the world, across a complete cross section of age, sex, race and religion. Sam toured the world, barely stopping for breath and made a terrific impact with her live act, selling out halls of up to 30,000 capacities across Canada and America and touring Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. In Montreal she broke the box office record. In South America she had huge record sales and a sell out tour sponsored by Pepsi - 20,000 seat minimum. In one year alone Sam played to over a million fans"

....Up there with the Cranberries for sure

 

[editor]

Godalming bandstand started up again with live performances three weeks ago, BB1’s band has played live, over 1000 people came to see her and her band. Perhaps during Covid times looking closer to home may be beneficial?

As has been explained to you multiple times: the problem is not UK gigs. The problem is losing the lucrative European market which have helped nurture and sustain untold numbers of small bands.

Surviving on UK-only gigs is extremely hard because loads of venues have closed down and most UK small gigs play peanuts compared to what you can earn in Europe.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

got that euro thing down
View attachment 279505

I didnt know she was as big as this
"During the 80’s Sam was the most photographed British star, alongside Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. Not since the Beatles has a British personality been so well known all over the world, across a complete cross section of age, sex, race and religion. Sam toured the world, barely stopping for breath and made a terrific impact with her live act, selling out halls of up to 30,000 capacities across Canada and America and touring Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. In Montreal she broke the box office record. In South America she had huge record sales and a sell out tour sponsored by Pepsi - 20,000 seat minimum. In one year alone Sam played to over a million fans"

....Up there with the Cranberries for sure

Not as big as David Hasselhoff though, that guy has really broken then Euro-touring scene.

 

[ska invita]

Not as big as David Hasselhoff though, that guy has really broken then Euro-touring scene.

Shes several times bigger than Hoff in terms of sales

 

[editor]

Someone will be along soon to say Sam Fox is irrelevant, slagging down true creatives who are out there doing the business, even if she is not to my taste I would not now dismiss the position she holds in the U.K. music scene.

No, it's only you going on and on about her and doing your best to trash this thread with irrelevant gibberish.

 

[Raheem]

got that euro thing down
View attachment 279505
not just euro tbh - worldwide
I didnt know she was as big as this
"During the 80’s Sam was the most photographed British star, alongside Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. Not since the Beatles has a British personality been so well known all over the world, across a complete cross section of age, sex, race and religion. Sam toured the world, barely stopping for breath and made a terrific impact with her live act, selling out halls of up to 30,000 capacities across Canada and America and touring Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. In Montreal she broke the box office record. In South America she had huge record sales and a sell out tour sponsored by Pepsi - 20,000 seat minimum. In one year alone Sam played to over a million fans"

....Up there with the Cranberries for sure

There's a dot on that discogs image that I spent about 15 seconds trying to get off my phone screen.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Shes several times bigger than Hoff in terms of sales


Respect to her.

 

[MickiQ]

I remember Sam Fox from her Page 3 career she was in at at least once a week, I can remember "Touch Me I Want Your Body" and its naturally suggestive video but I don't think she had much success in the UK though I do believe she was much successful outside the UK.
I went Blackpool with a group of mates many many years and there was a booth (long before Photoshop came along) where you could have your picture taken with a cardboard cutout of a celebrity.
I had a polaroid taken of me with my arm around a topless Ms Fox. My Mum when she saw it recognised who it was and guessed it was fake. My Dad demanded to know what the hell I had been doing.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Good job no one listens to your idiotic thoughts about the future of music.

Bandcamp seem to agree with my idiotic thoughts, as do many other platforms, and a multitude of businesses offering virtual concerts.
I think what you'll find is the music industry will continue but it will change, and those who refuse to embrace the change will be left behind to wallow in a swamp of their own self-pity.

 

[editor]

Bandcamp seem to agree with my idiotic thoughts, as do many other platforms, and a multitude of businesses offering virtual concerts.
I think what you'll find is the music industry will continue but it will change, and those who refuse to embrace the change will be left behind to wallow in a swamp of their own self-pity.

Bandcamp says that there will be no live gigs in the future and everyone will just sit at home and watch pretend gigs on YouTube? Like fuck they do, not that it matters what they think.

People have gathered together to hear live music for millennia and they will continue to do so, even if you're unable to comprehend the reasons why it is just an enjoyable - and important - thing to do,

 

[Aladdin]

This is gone weird and nasty.

 

[rutabowa]

We don't go to the cinema and expect the actors to arrive on stage. There's no reason music can't go the same way.

Cinema is one thing; live theatre is another (which still exists of course). I don’t believe you really want a world where all in-person human interaction has been replaced by a remote version, do you? It is a horrific prospect.

 

[MickiQ]

It's been a good while even pre-CoVID since I went a major concert but there is a huge difference between live music be it watching a top band in a major venue or a guy in a pub with a guitar and watching YouTube or playing a CD,
Even these live streaming events in the cinema aren't in the same league.
I have a lot of CD's and I regularly find ones that I have forgotten I have got, On the other hand It's been almost 40 years since I went to watch Queen in Manchester and I still remember it as utterly amazing.

 

[Pickman's model]

It's been a good while even pre-CoVID since I went a major concert but there is a huge difference between live music be it watching a top band in a major venue or a guy in a pub with a guitar and watching YouTube or playing a CD,
Even these live streaming events in the cinema aren't in the same league.
I have a lot of CD's and I regularly find ones that I have forgotten I have got, On the other hand It's been almost 40 years since I went to watch Queen in Manchester and I still remember it as utterly amazing.

I wonder how many gigs you've forgotten. I know I've forgotten loads. Generally by smaller bands.

 

[MickiQ]

I wonder how many gigs you've forgotten. I know I've forgotten loads. Generally by smaller bands.

I can remember quite a few and whilst I'm sure there are some I have undoubtably forgotten usually mention of the band's name is enough to make me realise 'Oh Yeah I've seen them'

 

[Pickman's model]

I can remember quite a few and whilst I'm sure there are some I have undoubtably forgotten usually mention of the band's name is enough to make me realise 'Oh Yeah I've seen them'

there are dozens of punk bands i saw at the acton arms in the 1990s who i have forgotten, it all merges in to one drunken night with spanish anarchists trying to blag it in for free when you knew full well they had a score in their pocket for booze.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Cinema is one thing; live theatre is another (which still exists of course). I don’t believe you really want a world where all in-person human interaction has been replaced by a remote version, do you? It is a horrific prospect.

No, I'm talking about touring bands, whose vanity is more important than the environment. Of course I have no problem with an English band playing in England, but flying to America is another matter.

 

[editor]

No, I'm talking about touring bands, whose vanity is more important than the environment. Of course I have no problem with an English band playing in England, but flying to America is another matter.

Have you any idea how ludicrous you sound when you make daft, sweeping statements like this?

Of all the things that contribute to environmental pollution, small bands touring the US in a small bus is pretty near the bottom. No more than a family taking a holiday, really, but I suppose you want to outlaw that too. And touring is not 'vanity' - it's a necessary part of being in a sustainable band.

But while you're standing on that high, judgemental moral ground, you should be sure to get rid of most of your belongings because they'll be a big environmental cost there too. Oh and turn off your computer and get off the internet, as that's bad too.

See ya'!

 

[Raheem]

In any case, I think it's possible, normal even, for UK bands to play gigs in the EU without getting on a plane.

 

[editor]

In any case, I think it's possible, normal even, for UK bands to play gigs in the EU without getting on a plane.

Yep. And given that a lot of European venues can provide backline, bands can just get the train and use public transport to the venue. Or at least they could before Brexit made things far more difficult and expensive.

 

[nogojones]

Sam Fox has sold over 30 million records worldwide, had 7 albums, check her discogs, when you see numbers like "87 versions" next to an album that means a massive worldwide hit - and she had a run of those

Samantha Fox

Explore the discography of Samantha Fox. Shop for vinyl, CDs, and more from Samantha Fox on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Is that better or worse than The Cranberries?

 

[ska invita]

Is that better or worse than The Cranberries?

if weve learned anything this year its that precious little in life is better than the Cranberries

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Yep. And given that a lot of European venues can provide backline, bands can just get the train and use public transport to the venue. Or at least they could before Brexit made things far more difficult and expensive.

This is very true.

 

[Raheem]

if weve learned anything this year its that precious little in life is better than the Cranberries

Jeff Bezos might be about to die, let me remind you.

 

[gosub]

Why does David Hasselhoff come to mind?

coz mindbleach isnt a real thing

 

[Pickman's model]

Jeff Bezos might be about to die, let me remind you.

hope springs eternal

 

[editor]

So here's a reminder of how Brexit is really hurting small bands and destroying a valuable cultural exchange.

For UK artists on the rise, the European tour—a vital rung on the ladder to sustainability, often carried out at a loss or on the tightest of margins—may no longer be viable. Without a visa waiver, performers, crew, and staff would all be subject to costly fees; many would simply lose the business.

Some vehicles and gear would require onerous goods passports, as Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood has outlined. For instance, current rules prohibit UK-based touring vehicles from making more than three stops on the continent. Visas in each country can also take several months to be approved, necessitating costly fast-tracking. In many cases, even completing the paperwork will incur extra costs, because hiring professional agents is the only sure way to prevent problematic delays down the line.

European artists coming to the United Kingdom face similar constraints. The trickle-down effect means grassroots venues that have survived the pandemic could suffer, too.

Frost has argued that musicians can work without visas in 17 of 27 EU countries. But critics say he is skirting the question of work permits, paperwork, and travel costs, particularly in Spain, the UK’s second-biggest touring market, where bureaucracy abounds.

In February, 81 percent of respondents to a petition for visa-free touring said they were now likely to stop playing shows in Europe. In June, Kelly Lee Owens cancelled a European stint, with one factor being the stress and cost of “dealing with individual countries in a post Brexit touring world.” Without a government U-turn, it looks increasingly likely that red tape will cordon off a generation of artists from the continent.

The Brexit Touring Crisis: What’s Happened and What’s Next for UK Musicians?

As Thom Yorke, Elton John, and more fight for a visa waiver for creative professionals, the government is standing its ground. At what cost?

pitchfork.com