Kate Nash warns MPs that touring could become “exclusive privilege for the wealthy”
Kate Nash has warned MPs that touring will soon become an “exclusive privilege for the wealthy” if the government don’t intervene to support artists.
The singer was appearing in front of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) select committee on February 3rd, where she explained the impacts that touring in the European Union have had on artists in the aftermath of Brexit.
On a personal level, Nash explained the toll this has wreaked on her by revealing a £26,000 loss from her more recent tour of Europe, on top of a £13,000 loss from her tour of the UK. In addition to this, she also noted that she had to make a crew member redundant before Christmas to save money.
“I was doing everything I could do to cut costs, which I really hate doing as an employer,” she said (per The Independent), before going on to highlight how her issues in touring have become hardly a unique experience.
“We are at risk of losing our reputation and pride in our culture, which will have a knock-on effect on the UK economy,” Nash claimed, before adding, “The more we limit artists, the more we limit UK culture on a global scale.”
To this end, the singer warned MPs that touring would become an “exclusive privilege for the wealthy” without help to mitigate costs from the government, noting the effects it would have on wider society if touring was to cease.
“I think music should not be exclusive, it’s for all, and it becomes an issue of class, it becomes an issue of race, gender and sexuality and identity, because the doors are closing on who can choose to take that kind of risk,” she said.
The government had promised new measures to support artists touring the EU as part of its trade package with the EU unveiled last May, but the specific details of this help have remained vague ever since.
Nash has become a prominent supporter of small artists in the music industry as well as grassroots venues, last year becoming a patron of the Music Venue Trust as an “investment in UK culture”.
However, she has also been forthright about the measures she has taken to continue her career, explaining to MPs that she now runs an OnlyFans in order to gain more money to tour.
Her comments to the select committee back up the findings of a new investigation from Far Out into the costs of artists touring.
Getdown Services’ Josh Law explained with regard to tours of the US: “The visa costs are insane, and then when you’re over there, accommodation and food is ridiculously expensive too, plus there’s huge taxes on all merch sales and profit from fees. We sold out every gig and didn’t even cover our costs.”
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