29/03/2017 London, UK: Responding to today’s triggering of Article 50 by Prime Minister Theresa May, which sets in motion the UK’s departure from the European Union, UK Music chief executive Jo Dipple said: “Navigating towards our EU exit in April 2019 will be hard and Government must use its strongest hand to steer. Globally successful, British music offers potent soft power and a ready-made diplomatic language.

“Because the UK is the best at music per head, we define our country as being the best too. Ed Sheeran broke the Spotify streaming record; Adele’s 25 sold more copies in just its first week than the other best-selling album of 2015, Taylor Swift’s 1989, sold all year in the US; Stormzy’s album Gang Signs & Prayer was self-released but still managed to hit No.1 on the Official UK Chart.

“The PM committed to offering a unique sector deal to the creative industries. This is the right approach for a sector growing at three times the rate of the rest of the economy which supports one in eleven jobs. We are the future now. Ministers need to listen to the creative sector when it talks of the opportunities and challenges ahead. Leaving the EU can’t make our music any less good. It might, though, make the framework for its success a lot stronger. Some of the specifics we highlighted in our own industrial strategy included maintaining and strengthening the current copyright structure, and ensuring ease of movement for musicians and crews when touring Europe.

“Getting the post EU-framework right for music means more jobs, more young people in apprenticeships, bigger export strength, more diplomatic power and more tax revenue flowing in from every city, nation and region. Getting it wrong probably means a return to punk rock.”