UK Music Chief Executive @jnjokugoodwin departs after three years at helm to join Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Director of Strategy.

Read here: https://t.co/JfsM4dRZBd pic.twitter.com/Bqg7Nx710N

— UK Music (@UK_Music) August 31, 2023

Njoku-Goodwin was named CEO of UK Music, a trade body that represents the collective interests of the UK music industry, back in 2020 and was perhaps most notable for steering the industry through the Covid-19 pandemic-helping to secure the safe return of live performances throughout the country. He was also instrumental in creating the National Plan for Music Education and leading the arguments on copyright protection for artists in light of the continuing emergence of Artificial Intelligence.

Speaking of his role as CEO, Njoku-Goodwin said, “the UK music industry is one of this country’s great national assets and it’s been a privilege to represent it for the past three years. Leading UK Music through what was the toughest of times for our sector during the pandemic, when the music industry faced an existential struggle, has been an immense honour.”

A very welcome recommendation from @cj_dinenage & @CommonsCMS. It’s vital that we ensure AI enables human artistry and creativity, not erode it. So strong copyright & IP protections must at the heart of any approach to seize the opportunities of AI. https://t.co/W2Nolh8NtY — Jamie Njoku-Goodwin (@jnjokugoodwin) August 30, 2023

Njoku-Goodwin expressed his belief that the music industry is now in a much better place than it was when he first came into the role, confident that he has now provided a road map on how the industry can continue to thrive in a post-Brexit UK and with modern challenges that continue to impact musicians and stakeholders.

“I think the pandemic probably had a big impact in terms of making people realise how much they missed it.”

UK Music Chief Executive @jnjokugoodwin in the @guardian discussing the demand for big-name tickets.

Read: https://t.co/sYqrr7VuOA pic.twitter.com/jaKq6mIWZZ

— UK Music (@UK_Music) August 19, 2023

Njoku-Goodwin previously welcomed the European Union Brexit Trade Deal that provided points on travel-a key concern for British based touring artists, while also expressing some concerns that continued bureaucracy and delays would put tours at risk, adding further uncertainty for musicians performing on the continent. The ex-CEO said at the time of the deal, “the Prime Minister has promised there will be no non-tariff barriers, so it is vital that Government delivers on this promise and ensures there are no barriers to British musicians working and touring through Europe. We will be seeking urgent reassurances on this from Government.”

Njoku-Goodwin’s role in the National Plan for Music Education will see the government commit to enabling children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and have the opportunity to further their interests in the music industry, including professionally. The plan also sets out how music education would look in schools, allowing students the chance to take music qualifications during their secondary education, such as GCSEs and A Levels.

V welcome to see @Keir_Starmer talk about the importance of music education and creativity – not only for supporting the talent pipeline, but for developing the skills we all need in the modern workplace. Every young person should have access to a high quality music education https://t.co/P4dod1xjmD — Jamie Njoku-Goodwin (@jnjokugoodwin) July 12, 2023

Njoku-Goodwin was thanked by various members of UK Music, following the news of his stepping down. UK Music deputy chief executive Tom Kiehl has been named CEO in the interim.

The list of countries that have confirmed their participation in the policy includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. The UK government then added that formal approaches have been made to Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, and Cyprus to also waive the visa requirement.

Although there remain questions over the prohibitive costs relating to gear and vehicle transport across borders, as well as other tax and duty issues. All of these present the main roadblocks to post-Brexit touring, according to UK musician bodies.

Additionally, musicians in the United Kingdom have expressed concern about Brexit’s impact on touring musicians, specifically regarding potential costly fees surrounding a visa or work permit required to tour the European Union.

The music industry still remains angry in their attitude and are adamant that they still need to do much more. Ian Smith from ‘ukeartswork’ and the #CarryOnTouring campaign argued that the government’s statement was misleading at best and in places “badly wrong”.

He told NME “Yes, we have visa and permit free work in 19 countries – however, what has not been said is that those free periods range from seven days in any one year to 14-30 days to 90 days, all with different reporting requirements. This means reporting said work to either the border police or local authorities prior to entering to work.”

He continued: “I am tired of the spin, and also to be frank this does not help given that there is no visa waiver to eliminate the substantial problem of the 90 in 180 day non-visa nationals rule which all British citizens have to abide by if not legally resident in an EU state and who are beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement.”

“Let’s make this ultra-clear: the UK government have not created any positive change by ‘engaging’ with individual EU states. They have merely been told the truth of what it means to be a third country non-visa national. Regardless of who said what way back during the negotiations, we need action now and continued action at that!”

This summer in response to these grievances we saw the launch of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign, with artists such as Wolf Alice, IDLES, Poppy Ajudha, and Radiohead among the 200 artists calling upon the UK government to take immediate action in order to resolve the ‘No Deal’ that has landed upon British music – while Elton John actually stated that the government were “philistines” for their approach.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

With the lifting of COVID restrictions, musicians seem to be able to get back to gigging and touring soon. However, without Government support or some kind of agreement between the UK and the European Union, artists will have to face some touring costs that could make touring outside of the UK very close to impossible.

A case study was released by the Musicians’ Union, one of the most influential group within the creative industries, stating the following: ‘British artists played over 20,000 dates touring Europe (in 2019, pre-COVID), in turn employing more than 30,000 people (including musicians and crew), cementing our international reputation as leading the world in creating great music. Not only does live performance create critical revenue for performers and their teams, it also acts to fuel the creation of the music that sits at the core of our recorded industry. We need urgent help now to ensure British talent is not blocked from growing their audiences internationally in the short term which brings long term implications on loss of future revenue.’

It’s impressive to think about the UK as the forever home of musical talents while knowing about the inexplicable fight happening as we speak. For most musicians, touring is a sacrifice in terms of money, time and resources, but it is also their only solid source of income. With the UK ministers acknowledging the problem without facing it, there is a general concern for many that the UK’s leading stand on its music is at risk.