Freelance Protection - Entertainment union BECTU has written to new culture secretary Lisa Nandy urging her to protect freelancers and the self-employed. The union also urges the culture secretary to champion equality and diversity in the arts. The letter from BECTU head Philippa Childs congratulated Nandy on Labour’s landslide general election victory and subsequent appointment, before calling on the new government to deliver its pre-election promises for the creative industries.
Starmer’s new government must secure a new deal for freelancers and the self-employed, who make up 28% of the creative workforce but currently lack many of the rights afforded to employees, Childs said. BECTU suggested "modernised protections and entitlements" for the freelance workforce "as part of a broader reform package on the legislative and institutional landscape on workers’ rights".
The proposal follows The Big Freelancer Survey 2024’s claim that a third of theatre freelancers (34%) are earning below the UK National Living Wage, rates of pay that it states would be illegal in a PAYE job.
Carbon Neutrality - Theatre managers are "confident" theatres can reach net zero by 2030, but have called on the wider industry to account for unavoidable carbon emissions. Their comments follow the launch of the Theatre Green Book’s second edition, which aims to put the theatre sector on track for carbon neutrality by the end of the decade.
When asked whether she thought this aim was attainable, the Bush Theatre’s general manager Angela Wachner replied: "I am really hopeful, particularly with this second version. It is much more accessible and much easier to use. I think the content was always amazing, but required a lot of understanding and knowledge to be able to implement it, and now I think it is a structure anyone should be able to pick up and move forward, particularly with some of the simple wins."
However, she continued: "I do worry about those elements of carbon emissions that we just can’t reduce. That is something our industry really needs to look at."
Fake Streams - Fraud groups take billions of dollars a year out of the music industry through fake streams, a streaming technology company has warned. At least 10% of all song streams are fraudulent, and this takes between $2bn and $3bn (£1.6bn and £2.4bn) out of the global music industry each year according to Beatdapp, the streaming fraud detection platform.
Global streaming jumped by a third last year with 7.1 trillion song streams recorded in 2023, according to the latest figures published by Luminate, the music data provider.
The revenue from streaming was $19.3bn in the same year, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the global recording industry. Streaming makes up more than two thirds of the industry's revenue, the research found. Andrew Batey and Morgan Hayduk, the co-chief executives of Beatdapp, said that all stakeholders in the digital music supply chain lose money to fraud because it is taking from the pool of money, generated through subscription fees and advertising revenue, that gets paid out based on streaming plays.
Looking Ahead - Back to the Future the Musical has been extended until July 2025 at London’s Adelphi Theatre. Producer Colin Ingram and show creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale have also announced a new cast, including Vasco Emauz - who is set to make his West End debut as Marty McFly. The musical, which first opened at the Adelphi Theatre in September 2021, is based on the 1985 science-fiction comedy film starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd.
Old Gold - A rare vinyl record by the Sex Pistols has sold for a record-breaking price at auction. The sought-after copy of the controversial single God Save the Queen was pressed in 1977 to coincide with the late Queen's Silver Jubilee. About 25,000 records were withdrawn from sale following a backlash to lyrics describing the monarchy as a "fascist regime". However, several copies remained in circulation, one of which was sold by vinyl record specialists Wessex Auction Rooms on 5 July for £24,320.
Farewell - Joe Egan, the Scottish singer-songwriter who co-founded Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty and co-wrote their 1973 hit Stuck in the Middle With You, has died aged 77. Egan’s death was confirmed on the official Rafferty Facebook page, run by Rafferty’s daughter, Martha (Rafferty died in 2011). “Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him,” Martha wrote. “I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”
(Jim Evans)
16 July 2024
