Blur's Dave Rowntree Says Brexit Could "Bankrupt" New Bands

"If British bands cannot make a profit in Europe, there is no plan B. There is no alternative."

*Blur* drummer *Dave Rowntree *says the new generation of artists will be "gone" unless post-Brexit touring issues can be resolved.

The drummer was an outspoken critic of Brexit and the subsequent negotiations, matching his day-job in Blur to his commitments as a Labour councillor.

Writing for *Politics Home*, Dave Rowntree has issued a dire warning for the post-Brexit landscape, insisting that it could decimate new artists.

An ambassador for *Let The Music Move campaign*, he insists that new fees and barriers for European touring would make life "very hard" for new talent.

“It won’t affect a band like mine," he insisted. "We will be fine because if it costs an extra ten, twenty or hundred thousand pounds to sort out a European tour, reluctantly, we can shoulder that burden”.

“Who this hits — and hits very hard — is people at the bottom of the ladder, who are already living hand to mouth," he continued. "A band just starting out will now look at Europe and think doing a tour might make them bankrupt and end them. Those festivals and large gigs in Europe are what allow the new generation of British bands to fund recording and pay their rent for the rest of the year."

"If British bands cannot make a profit in Europe, there is no plan B. There is no alternative. And that’s it, that’s the Blurs of twenty years’ time, gone."

FInd the full article *HERE.*

Dave Rowntree joins a host of musicians pleading for better post-Brexit touring arrangements, with everyone from Sir Elton John to Ed Sheeran making their voices heard.

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