If you know the whereabouts of BPI chairman Peter Jamieson, please contact the NHS, it seems he's gone off his brain medicine. He must've, or he wouldn't be asking the British government for a tax credit to cover the cost of artist scouting and acquisition. Jamieson wants BPI member companies to receive the same tax incentive that companies specializing in research and development are afforded. Comparing the situation of BPI member companies to the pharmaceutical industry, Jamieson claims that a system of tax credits to make up for all that money spent finding, courting and signing new musicians to
Meanwhile in the new -music mines (somewhere deep inside the earth's core) sweaty A&R suits work tirelessly to build-up the hopes and dreams of starry-eyed young skulls full of musical mush, quietly recording every penny spent to reshape them into the maladjusted and chemically dependent rock-stars of the not-too-distant future, and then billing them against future earnings for all that time and effort spent digging them up.
[via The BBC]
1. It's not that crazy. The UK gov't has made a big effort to increase sales of its artists in other countries and at home. (And they've worked. Homegrown artists are topping the UK charts once again.)
The government helps young artists make the trip to Austin to perform at SXSW, for example. And I belive the gov't set up trade offices in Tokyo and DC that are specifically for furthering British music. Fore many years here have been pushes by artists and industry alike to lower the VAT on recorded music. Given all that, it's no surprise the BPI is looking for more financial help. It knows it may not get turned down.
Posted at 5:37PM on Sep 25th 2006 by Glenn