What This Week’s Brexit Vote Means to the Electronic Music Industry
Last night, while Britain was still sleeping, resultsĀ on the recent Brexit referendum started to pour in, with major British news outlets such as BBC, ITV and SkyNews announcing that Britain had votedĀ for the political movement championingĀ for a separation from the EU.
Now that the Leave campaign has been crowned as victors, we can begin to look at how this vote will change the spectrum of the electronic music industry. Although the focus of leaving Europe was on immigration, a Europe without Britain will also result in massive changes when it comes to manufacturing and trade. Britain’s exit from the EU will not be immediate, with most experts predicting the leave to occur in 2019 following years of new agreements and changes between the British and European governments.
Regardless of how long it will take for the move to finally and fully take place, it is inevitable that these changes will indeed happen, impacting the lives of many in the music industry. As Pitchfork reported, aĀ spokesperson for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) emphasized the importance of the EU and Europe āto UK recorded music and to the music sector generally, particularly when you consider the importance of live music and touring.ā
The biggest concern is for touring DJs. With Britain leaving Europe, it is entirely possible that British artists will be restricted from openly touring Europe, while European artists may find similar changes when attempting to tourĀ Britain. This could result in expensive and time-consuming complications, such as individualĀ visas to enter the EU, as well as the need of aĀ carnet, a document which delineates each piece of equipment on deck,]preventing the import or export of products without paying Value Added Tax. This will cost Ā£1000āĀ£2000 (approximately $1400ā$2900), and will need to be renewed every 12 months.
