The following blog comes from Ged Doherty, Chairman BPI and BRIT Awards Ltd. As he explains, Doherty is a former Chairman/CEO of Sony Music UK and continues to work as a film producer at Raindog Films.
I have spent a good deal of my career over the past three decades living or traveling abroad, and one of the many insights that this has given to me is the ability to view the UK through the eyes of others.
Indeed I have spent the majority of the last three years outside the UK as part of my day job as a film producer at Raindog Films, a company I founded with my business partner Colin Firth.
I have been in and around music since I started playing in bands as a Manchester teenager from the age of 15, going on to spend nearly 20 years working at the highest level in entertainment globally with Sony Music in New York and London, where I was the Chairman and CEO.
In January I took up the position of Chairman of the BPI and BRIT Awards, so, at the risk of being bold, I feel I have some experience of what it takes for British talent to make it in the entertainment business on the world stage.
On countless occasions I have witnessed for myself the galvanising impact of the BBC and the role this unique organisation plays in helping British creative talent and the music community that supports it to punch well above its weight globally.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that one of the main reasons British music continues to thrive is due to young artists in this country being exposed to all kinds of music and influences as they grow up listening to the BBC, giving them that vital creative edge that also helps them to become world beaters.
Music is one of Britain’s great success stories that not only creates a dynamic vision of the UK around the world but also boosts our global exports – last year nearly 14%, or one in seven, of all the albums sold overseas were by British artists, generating close to £2bn in international sales.
The continued global success of British talent, including the likes of Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and One Direction in recent years and of Paloma Faith, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and George Ezra over the past 12 months, is underpinned by the BBC’s commitment to music in all its forms, particularly through Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra, which help to identify, incubate and break the next generation of British superstars.
We should acknowledge too the vital role of Radio 2, which does so much to bring the classic repertoire that we grew up with as well as broad and diverse range of music genres, including Folk, Jazz and Country to an extensive national listenership.
“There is no doubt in my mind that one of the main reasons british music continues to thrive is due to young artists in this country being exposed to the BBC.”
Let’s not forget also that BBC Radio 6 Music, which so many fans love listening to, and, of course, Radio 3 and its classical broadcasts play their full part in creating a rich and varied music landscape for different audiences to enjoy.
The lifeblood of new music and eclectic music diversity that helps to feed and sustain the British music industry would be severely and permanently damaged if music on BBC radio were to be curtailed in the ways that are currently being suggested and reported in the media following publication of the green paper on the BBC Charter review.
The number of broadcast outlets dedicated to music have already decreased considerably in recent years, particularly on television, where there are now very few programmes that showcase and support emerging talent and new music. So, if anything, we need a great deal more investment and support for music on the BBC across all its channels – TV as well as radio – not less.
This, combined with the fact that more and more small live venues across the country are being bulldozed to make way for wine bars and fancy apartment buildings, is understandably giving rise to huge cause for concern across all parts of the music community.
Of course we need to understand better what the government may have in mind, and our sincere hope is that no threat to BBC radio’s music output will materialise, but if it becomes apparent that the government does indeed have the BBC’s radio channels in its sights, then our industry must work together to ensure that it makes the strongest case possible in support of BBC Music on its national radio channels, setting out in the most categorical terms why the Corporation is so important to British music and the global success it enjoys.
I therefore urge the government to show great care and caution before making any changes that could not only have severe repercussions for British music, but will compound an increasingly difficult environment for new artists as they struggle to have their musical talent discovered, nurtured and supported so that it can lead to success at home and around the world.
[Pictured: Ged with his predecessor as Chairman of the BPI, Tony Wadsworth]Music Business Worldwide
