Music Industry Figures Accuse BBC Of ‘Arbitrary And Disproportionate’ Changes Following Bob Vylan Glastonbury Set
Major figures in the music industry are accusing the BBC of making “arbitrary and disproportionate” changes to how it covers live music after the controversy regarding Bob Vylan’s recent Glastonbury festival performance.
Following this year’s Glastonbury festival, the BBC found itself under a heap of pressure from the government for live streaming Bob Vylan’s set in which they led chants of “death, death to the IDF,” in reference to the Israel Defense Forces and the conflict in Palestine.
The concern from the industry relates to artists being worried that the BBC can simply cut any musical performance that they deem to be high risk.
The performance itself wasn’t shown on television, but was instead available via on-demand livestream on iPlayer where it was available for five hours. Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Samir Shah, the chair, have apologized and stated that disciplinary action will be expected to occur.
Many insiders to the music industry are claiming that the BBC is overreacting, and Glastonbury coverage has been running for years without any serious incidents. The biggest concern from artists, however, is concerns over free speech.
Head of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), which is the UK body representing musical artists, David Martin, stated that the network should rethink their decisions.
“The BBC is absolutely fundamental to the continued success of British music, and particularly vital to supporting our new and emerging artists’ development,” he said.
“The FAC wholeheartedly supports the network’s remit for public service broadcasting, something which is encapsulated by their Glastonbury coverage. That remit also comes with responsibilities. The BBC is rightly held to the highest regulatory, legal and editorial standards. If those standards have been breached, then there should be appropriate guidelines to follow.”
“But the idea of preemptively grading artists according to their ’risk’ factor feels arbitrary and disproportionate – and a dangerous step towards censorship. That kind of approach could potentially curtail artistic freedom around certain genres and inadvertently punish those who are simply expressing their views. It’s a road I think we should resist going down.
“Live music is incredibly important to the UK. It provides entertainment and cultural capital. But it’s also an art form, and our performers should be free to challenge, provoke and take risks.”
According to the Guardian, A BBC spokesperson said:
“We will continue to bring audiences a range of music performances, both live and on-demand, and we respect artists’ freedom of expression. However, Bob Vylan’s offensive and deplorable behaviour on one of our Glastonbury live streams was completely unacceptable and we are sorry it appeared on the BBC.
“This is why we have made immediate changes to livestreaming music events, and these alongside our editorial guidelines will shape our plans going forward.”
The general secretary of the Musicians’ Union, Naomi Pohl, stated that she’s concerned over the BBC’s decision to be more cautious and hesitant about what music performances they decide to broadcast.
“We really don’t want to see the BBC broadcasting fewer live events,” she said.
“It’s such a shame there has been this shadow cast over this year’s Glastonbury coverage, because it has had fantastic viewing figures. It’s been all over iPlayer and people have been tuning in live.
“We need to talk to the BBC about it directly. But I don’t want to see any broadcasters now broadcasting fewer live events because they don’t want to take the risk. The whole of the music industry will be feeling that, because it’s so crucial to us to have the BBC,” she said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
