“Goodbye old friend / We’ll miss you a lot / Our little mate the EU.”
Glastonbury festival has posted a poem declaring “it’s a day none of us have felt less British,” in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
“I think we’re safe in the knowledge that it’s nobody’s fault here,” reads the poem, urging festival-goers to “trudge on through the mud and sing out loud our protest songs” while asking attendees to embrace their “fellow Glastonberry.” Read it in full below.
Meanwhile, British music governing body the BPI has released a statement reassuring the music community it will “swiftly negotiate trade deals that will ensure unimpeded access to EU markets for our music and our touring artists.”
The decision to leave the EU is expected to have serious implications for the music industry, which brings the UK government £4 billion a year from sales abroad.
BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: “The outcome of the EU Referendum will come as a surprise to many across the music community, who will be concerned by the economic uncertainty that lies ahead and the impact this may have on business prospects.”
“The UK public has spoken, and once the short-term political and macro-economic consequences have played out, this decision will mean new priorities for the music industry in our work with Government.”
Taylor added: “We will, of course, press the Government to swiftly negotiate trade deals that will ensure unimpeded access to EU markets for our music and our touring artists. Our Government will also now have the opportunity to legislate for stronger domestic copyright rules that encourage investment here in the UK and which will protect UK creators from piracy and from tech platforms siphoning off value through copyright loopholes. We are confident that British music will remain hugely popular across Europe and we will work hard to make sure UK labels are able to capitalise on that demand.”
