06.06.2023: Jamie Njoku-Goodwin talked to Headliner about the challenges facing the music industry from the impact of AI and EU touring issues to the difficulties facing the grassroots music sector. 

In a wide-ranging interview with Headliner’s Dan Gumble, Jamie set out the industry’s concerns about AI and the importance of what a licensing framework might look like.

Jamie said: “Fundamentally, it’s about how AI interacts with the current copyright and IP framework we have. So, one of the biggest causes for concern we’ve had in recent months was around copyright exemption, which means that copyright and IP laws wouldn’t apply for the training of AI.

“The copyright and IP framework we have in this country has been one of the reasons for this industry’s success, so if those rules and regulations were watered down it would have been catastrophic for the industry. So, trying to ensure there will be no copyright exceptions is one of the key things we want to see.”

Jamie also discussed the challenges around artists, musicians and crew touring the UK:

“There is still a whole load of challenges with things like carnets, Visas, and work permits. There’s also the 90 days in 180 situation, which is great if you’re only going to Europe for 90 days as it means you can be Visa free, but lots of musicians and crew are spending a lot more time than that there. They are on the road, it’s where their livelihood is, and they need to be there for a lot longer. And it’s adding costs and complexity, and for many it’s making it impossible to tour.”

He also spoke about the issues facing grassroots music venues:

“If you take a step back, there was the culture recovery fund during the pandemic and there were a number of venues that benefitted from that, so the government deserves credit for that. However, off the back of that, what’s the point of spending billions of pounds supporting sectors during the pandemic only to see them fail and close after the pandemic? It shouldn’t just be a case of saving something during the pandemic – when these venues are gone they are gone, so they need to be able to thrive.”

You can read the full interview here.