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NME

Figures from the live music, nighttime and hospitality industries have responded the UK government’s mini-budget announcement today (September 23).

This morning, Chancellor Of The Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng delivered an official statement in the House Of Commons in which he outlined a series of tax cuts and new economic measures.

• READ MORE: Government warned: “Without immediate action, energy crisis will close more venues than COVID”

He began by addressing the rise in energy costs. For businesses, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme “will reduce wholesale gas and electricity prices”. “This will provide a price guarantee equivalent to the one provided for households,” Kwarteng said.

As announced earlier this week, the scheme will offer discounts for all firms for a six-month period from October 1. Prices will be fixed at 21.1p per kilowatt hours (kWh) for electricity and 7.5p per KWh for gas.

Companies are not required to contact their energy suppliers, as the discount will automatically be applied to bills.

Additionally, Kwarteng set out the government’s plan to increase economic growth in the UK. This will be built around three central priorities: reforming the supply-side of the economy, maintaining responsible approach to public finances, and cutting taxes.

There will be a cut in the basic rate of income tax to 19 per cent from April 2023, and a reversal of the recent increase in National Insurance from November 6. The government has also scrapped the rise in Corporation Tax (from 19 per cent to 25 percent), which had been due next April.

You can read the full announcement on GOV.UK.

Jon Collins, CEO of Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment (LIVE), said: “While we are pleased to see the government taking steps to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis, today’s announcement delivers little for the UK’s world leading live music industry.

“Jobs are already on a knife edge, and we agree with the Chancellor that there are too many barriers in sectors like ours where the UK leads the world. Combined with the impact of reduced public spending power and rising costs across the supply chain, businesses that are already struggling to turn a profit will face bankruptcy and closure.”

Collins added: “Only the emergency measures that we have suggested to government will prevent this – injecting cash into the bottom line of struggling businesses through a reduction in VAT on ticket sales, as well as major reform of business rates.”

Michael, Kill CEO of Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said he was “extremely disappointed” with the contents of the Chancellor’s speech.

“It will be seen as a missed opportunity to support businesses that have been hardest hit during this crisis, causing considerable anxiety, anger and frustration across the sector as once again they feel that many will have been left out in the cold,” Kill continued.

“We have been extremely clear with the government that the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, even with the announcement of the limited tax cuts on National Insurance, Corporation Tax and Duty, is unlikely to be enough to ensure businesses have the financial headroom to survive the winter, especially with yesterday’s announcement of the rise in interest rates from the Bank of England.”

Kill went on to urge the government to “reconsider these measures, given the limited impacts of the current tax cuts on the immediate crisis for many businesses across the sector, the extremely vulnerable position the night time economy and hospitality sectors remain in”.

He also called on the Chancellor to “re-evaluate the inclusion of general business rates relief and the reduction of VAT within these measures”.

Sacha Lord, the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, said that today’s announcement had left him “speechless”.

“Corporation tax cuts are completely useless if businesses aren’t turning a profit, or worse, closed,” he tweeted. “These announcements will now mean last orders for thousands of hospitality businesses meaning mass redundancies.”

Lord went on: “I’m absolutely clear. This Gov’t is just about big business, corporations and the fat cats. They have just sent a strong message to the hospitality industry: They don’t care. They have just thrown small family run businesses to the wolves.”

Last month, five organisations representing the UK hospitality sector penned an open letter to the government amid the ongoing cost of living crisis. They highlighted “rocketing energy prices” that were forecast to become “a matter of existential emergency” this year, and demanded urgent government action to prevent a catastrophe to UK culture.

Mark Davyd, MVT CEO, spoke to NME at the time about the true threat posed by the looming price hike. He compared it to the COVID pandemic, which at one point saw 93 per cent of the UK’s grassroots music venues under threat of being closed forever due to losses caused by restrictions.

This week, , findings from a new flash poll conducted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) indicated that three out of four night time economy businesses in the UK were on a “financial cliff edge” as a result of inflation.

Out of the 300 businesses surveyed, 47.7 per cent were barely breaking even while 24.8 per cent were losing money.

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NME

The UK government has been warned again that musicians and crew “could find themselves unemployed en masse”, after a hearing at the House Of The Lords revealed the damage already being caused by Brexit on those wishing to tour Europe.

• READ MORE: Brexit is “strangling the next generation of UK talent in the cradle” in returning summer of touring

NME was invited to a hearing at the House Of Lords led by industry insiders and the #CarryOnTouring campaign earlier this month (Tuesday September 6), where the impact that new post-Brexit touring rules were having on the lives and jobs of UK musicians and road crew was revealed. Music fans are now being encouraged to write to their MPs to demand action.

Last year, the UK music industry spoke out together on how they had essentially been handed a “No Deal Brexit” when the government failed to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew. As a result, artists attempting to hit the road again after COVID found themselves on the predicted “rocky road” for the first summer of European touring after Britain left the EU – finding that the complications of Brexit are “strangling the next generation of UK talent in the cradle”.

The hearing from live music industry workers at the House Of Lords – attended by a number of MPs and Lords but no one from the Conservative Party – presented the main obstacles once again; that work permits were creating extra red tape for people to be hired from the UK, that carnets and the lack of clear information was leading to extra expense and confusion, that it was unknown how much merchandise could be taken and sold, and that the 90 out of 180-day access rule was having dire consequences and seeing many artists and crew either not hired or sent home from tour.

The centre-piece of the hearing came from drummer Steve Barney, who found himself unemployed as a result of the new rule that UK citizens can only stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days in every 180 days without a special visa. An open letter from Barney read out in the hearing has since been shared thousands of times on Twitter.

Barney, who has over 25 years of experience playing with the likes of Annie Lennox, Jeff Beck and Sugababes, wrote that he was thrilled to be invited on tour with Italian artist Gianna Nannini having lost two years of work due to the COVID pandemic. He was then asked to join Anastacia on tour, having drummed for her for over 12 years and 500 gigs. Sadly, the 90 out of 180 rule would put an end to his plans as he had already spent 78 days in the Schengen area.

“Despite the best efforts of the production manager, Anastacia’s manager, and myself to obtain an extended Schengen visa, we were unable to do so because it turned out such a thing does not exist!” he wrote. “Once management came to the conclusion that there were no legal means by which I could spend another three months in the Schengen area on another European tour, my offer of work was withdrawn, and I lost my job of 12 years.”

He continued: “I am absolutely devastated, frustrated and angry. The loss of a place in this band is a massive blow to me financially, mentally and creatively. Throughout my entire career, I have travelled freely across Europe without an egg timer counting down my time left. Ultimately, I now feel like I am being penalised professionally, simply for being British.

“Today, this is my sob story. However, it will soon be that of every other British touring professional if it’s not already.”

Barney then pointed to a study by Best For Britain that showed that the number of British artists scheduled to perform in Europe as part of this year’s festival season had fallen by 45 per cent when compared to 2017-2019 (pre-Brexit). The drummer added that “without change, Britain’s world-leading touring artists and crew are going to find themselves unemployed, en masse, because it is easier and cheaper for touring productions to employ foreign personnel who are not subject to the same restrictions”.

Echoing the call for a cultural passport to prevent these problems, Barney wrote that “we urgently need a single, Schengen-wide visa, restoring British touring professionals’ ability to work.”

“Not only is mine a British job that has been lost, but as European tours typically include the UK, I have even lost a British job, in Britain, for the UK leg of the tour,” he added. “I am apprehensive about the future, as we can no longer compete on a level playing field with our European counterparts. We are no longer competing on quality; we are being undercut by necessity, if not convenience.”

A letter was then read out in the hearing from Anastacia’s manager, echoing these sentiments, and that they had no choice but to replace Barney with a new Finnish drummer. “This is a British job that has been lost to Europe purely to an unnecessary bureaucratic roadblock,” the letter read.

• READ MORE: UK touring bands are suffering due to “Brexit fuck-ups and a lack of government control”

The letters were read out by Barney’s close friend and Pendulum guitarist Peredur ap Gwynedd, who told of similar woes from colleagues on a recent Iron Maiden tour and concluded: “Managers are now actively looking for musicians and crew with EU passports. The British passport is about as much use as a fart in a spacesuit.”

Ian Smith spoke of the knock-on impact that such matters were having on the UK’s standing as a “launchpad” for live music and tours.

“Often American bands and other third country national bands used to come into the UK and use it as a launchpad to go into Europe to work,” he told the hearing. “Guess what? UK technicians and crew are seen to be among the best in the world. Now because it’s too difficult, they cannot bring in crew from the UK, so they’re flying directly to the EU [to launch].

“Those technicians and crew that were going to go on tour for three months around Europe and generate GDP for the UK have now lost their jobs. That’s the bottom line.”

Singer, producer and promoter Pat Fulgoni also spoke at the event about how Brexit was likely to damage the UK’s standing as one of the leading exporters of music, as well as take work away from thousands of skilled UK workers and artists – he himself losing “a lot of income” from opportunities abroad.

“As an artist, I now find myself on universal credit because I can’t afford to survive from music,” he said. “I’ve been in the game for 25 years. That’s not a sob story – that’s just the reality. There are a lot of people like myself who have left the industry and just gone, ‘It’s over, I’ve had enough, I can’t look after my family’.”

He continued: “Particularly the youth and people from more disadvantaged backgrounds and in genres like grime and emerging styles that we should be supporting, they just see [music] as a pipe dream and not an opportunity. They think there is no way that they’re ever going to get to experience what I used to get up to, which was get in a van with a band, tour Europe, develop my craft and earn money from it.

“That’s a massive problem now. We are losing our position in the world, we are not being taken seriously as an industry internationally, and we’re too much hassle. I was looking at getting a tour together and realised that I’m just not worth the effort when compared with bands from Germany or France. There’s just far too much red tape, and it’s too expensive for me to sort that out.”

• READ MORE: “It’s going to be devastating” – here’s how Brexit will screw over British touring artists

James Kennedy is a rock solo artist, DJ, producer, podcast host and owner of Konic Records. Speaking at the hearing, Kennedy admitted to being “one of those artists who have cancelled their European tour, as have many of my friends”.

“Until I got involved in the campaign, I didn’t have a clue what any of the regulations were, so I just stayed away from it,” he said. “Those of my friends who are out there in Europe are with bands like Iron Maiden, one of the biggest bands on the planet. I spoke to their guitar tech three weeks when they got back from their European leg, and he said it’s the single worst touring experience that he’s ever had.

He continued: “The feedback that I’m getting from the entire food chain – from the small independent bands to bands like Iron Maiden – is that no one has a good word to say about the experience at all.

“What it comes down to is a few main elements. Everybody hates the carnet; it’s expensive, no one understands it, it’s not an exact science, and people can’t find the customs guy at the border. It’s chaos and confusion. We don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing.”

He added: “My passion is music and my community is musicians. This is way bigger than just music – this is the crews, the lighting techs, the sound techs, the drivers, the haulage, everything. These are all industries that have been unemployed for two years; world-class industries that are hungry to get out there and work. Now we’re stuck in this bizarre system of carnets and needing to come home after so many days.

“People just aren’t going to employ you because you’re a pain in the arse. They’ll hire a domestic crew who can do the whole stint.

Some MPs present, including Labour’s Kevin Brennan, urged the government to adopt the recommendations of the recent report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music, which hold practical solutions to tend to many of the issues.

Lord David Hannay said the European Affairs Committee has begun a new inquiry into the future of UK-EU relations, including the impact on culture. Lord Mike German also claimed the 2026 date when annual negotiations with the EU will commence would be too late, arguing that “this Government does not wish to speak with the EU about anything which could get in their way”.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was unable to respond when approached for comment on the hearing or any potential upcoming plans to tackle the issues.

In an op-ed message penned for NME earlier this summer, Wolf Alice guitarist Joff Oddie wrote of his fears that changes brought about by Brexit “are going to seriously damage the prospects of so many new acts, who have already been held back by two years of not being able to tour due to the pandemic”.

“We cannot expect to retain our rich musical culture and heritage if we fail to support both upcoming and established artists,” wrote Oddie. “We need a new deal for touring from the Government now. It is time to tear down the barriers artists are facing touring the EU. It is time to let the music move!”

Check out Oddie’s full message here.

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NME

Stevie Nicks has shared a cover of Buffalo Springfield‘s ‘For What It’s Worth’, the ’60s protest anthem written by Stephen Stills.

• READ MORE: Stevie Nicks: “In Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie and I were a force of nature”

The release of the new version was announced earlier this week in a handwritten letter posted to social media. It follows the Fleetwood Mac member’s most recent solo album, 2014’s ’24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault’, a collection of re-recorded demos written between 1969 and 1987. Her last album of new original material was 2011’s ‘In Your Dreams’.

“I am so excited to release my new song this Friday,” Nicks wrote. “It’s called ‘For What It’s Worth’ and it was written by Stephen Stills in 1966. It meant something to me then, and it means something to me now.

“I always wanted to interpret it through the eyes of a woman – and it seems like today, in the times we live in, it has a lot to say… I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

Listen to Nicks’ cover of ‘For What It’s Worth’ below.

Nicks is currently touring the US – see her forthcoming dates below, and purchase any remaining tickets here.

SEPTEMBER
24 – Bridgeport, CT – Sound on Sound Festival
30 – Dana Point, CA – Ohana Festival

OCTOBER
03 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
06 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
09 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
12 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
16 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
19 – Charleston, SC – CreditOne Stadium
22 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
25 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
28 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

Last summer saw Nicks cancel all of her scheduled tour dates for 2021 due to COVID concerns.

“Because singing and performing have been my whole life, my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer,” she wrote at the time. “I’m devastated and know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”

In more recent news, Nicks shared an emotional statement on gun control last month, calling on lawmakers to “make it really hard” for people to buy firearms.

The post Listen to Stevie Nicks’ cover of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth’ appeared first on NME.

NME

ENHYPEN are set to hold a live performance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles next month.

• READ MORE: ENHYPEN on their musical duality: “If there is light, there’s got to be a shadow”

Yesterday (September 22), the Grammy Museum announced that ENHYPEN are the next stars of their ‘Global Spin Live’ series, the live event extension of their ‘Global Spin’ web series.

The boyband are set to make their appearance on the show on Tuesday, October 4, which will include a performance of two songs. The tracks to be performed have yet to be announced.

The group will also sit down for a conversation, moderated by actress and social media influencer Emily Mei, about their careers, creative process and their ongoing world tour. Tickets for their forthcoming appearance on the ‘Global Spin Live’ series can be purchased through the Grammy Museum’s website.

Apart from their forthcoming performance at the GRAMMY Museum, ENHYPEN are also set to kick off the United States leg of their ‘Manifesto’ world tour next month. The tour will take the group to six cities around the country, including Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and New York.

The ‘Manifesto’ world tour, which concluded its South Korean leg earlier this week, comes in support of their latest recent mini-album ‘Manifesto : Day 1’. In a four-star review of the record, NME’s Tássia Assis praised the record as “a brash, self-affirming statement” which “introduces a new era for the rising powerhouse”.

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NME

BTS have released a music video for ‘Yet to Come (Hyundai Ver.)’, a British rock remix of the septet’s latest title track.

• READ MORE: BTS’ new single ‘Yet To Come’ offers poignant reflection and an optimistic invitation into the future

The new visual sees BTS performing the song live from a rooftop, interspersed with shots of children playing soccer, as well as crowds and families tuning in to watch World Cup events.

“We’re going straight to the stars, they never thought we’d make it this far / Now the vision is clear, the goal of the century is here,” Suga and J-hope declare in revised lyrics for the chorus.

The remixed version of ‘Yet to Come’ was produced in partnership with Hyundai as part of ‘Goal of the Century’, the car company’s promotional campaign for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. Following the track’s release, Hyundai is set to launch the #TeamCentury12 challenge on TikTok to promote the messaging behind BTS’ track.

BTS are also set to hold a free live performance in Busan next month. The concert, titled ‘Yet to Come in Busan’, was organized in support of the South Korean city’s bid to host the forthcoming 2030 World Expo.

‘Yet to Come in Busan’ will be held at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on October 15, 6PM KST. A “live play” event will be hosted at the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal Outdoor Parking Lot at the same time.

Earlier this week, Big Hit Music took to BTS’ official Weverse page to announce that the upcoming gig will be livestreamed in real-time on the fan community platform, free of cost, with options of viewing the concert livestream either through Weverse’s mobile or smart TV apps.

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NME

Lewis Capaldi has covered Olivia Rodrigo‘s ‘Driver’s License’ for Spotify Singles – hear the cover, recorded at Abbey Road, below.

Capaldi recently returned with comeback single ‘Forget Me’, which went straight to Number One in the UK singles chart and came complete with a music video that recreates Wham!’s ‘Club Tropicana’ video shot-for-shot.

• READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Lewis Capaldi: “I make jokes because I’m comfortable with who I am”

Alongside the ‘Driver’s License’ cover, Capaldi also shared a stripped back version of ‘Forget Me’ for the Spotify Singles release.

In a statement about the new song, Capaldi wrote: “I’m back. My new single is called ‘Forget Me’, and let’s just be honest here, lyrically it covers a lot of the same ground as before. I meet lady, lady leaves me, I whine about it in a pop song. Textbook.

“After I was able to finally fucking move out of my parents house in 2020 after the success of ‘Someone You Loved’ and ‘Before You Go’, I thought it’d be wise to ring up my pals TMS again and see if they fancied writing some more tunes after I realised I’m contractually obligated to make more music for a large corporation. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“It’s a wee bit more upbeat than my previous numbers, mostly because after touring the world, I noticed that my lesser known slower tracks were making some of the crowds look like they were about to fall asleep out of sheer boredom. However, this new one is sad AND fast, much like my love making. Not to worry, I’ve still got plenty of depressing ballads up my sleeve. More on that another time…”

Listen to the Spotify Singles release below.

In other news, the singer revealed in an Instagram Live broadcast that he has been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome.

“It is something I am living with,” he told his followers, adding: “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Capaldi added that while he hasn’t “really learned much” about the condition, he has been receiving “Botox in my shoulder to stop it moving” and “learning new ways to cope all the time”.

“Some days it’s more painful than others, sometimes it’s quite uncomfortable, but I guess that’s it,” he added.

“When they told me, ‘We think you’ve got Tourette’s’, I was like, ‘Do you know what? That makes so much sense’. When I look back at my interviews from 2018, I can see that I’m doing it.”

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