Music industry figures have accused the BBC of making “arbitrary and disproportionate” changes to its coverage of live music after the fallout from Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury festival performance.
There is serious concern among artists and music agencies over a BBC decision that means any musical performances deemed to be high risk will not be broadcast live or streamed live.
The BBC came under pressure from the government after it did not cut a Glastonbury livestream that showed Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, leading chants of “death, death to the IDF”, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
The performance was never shown on terrestrial television, but viewers could have seen it via an on-demand livestream on iPlayer, where it was available for five hours. The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and chair, Samir Shah, have apologised and disciplinary action is expected for some of those directly involved.
However, music industry insiders said the corporation has seriously overreacted, pointing to the fact that extensive Glastonbury coverage has been running for years without serious incident. Several also cited free speech concerns for artists.
David Martin, the head of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the UK trade body representing music artists, called for a rethink and said it was a moment for “cool heads and an even-handed approach”.
“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.”
Naomi Pohl, the general secretary of the Musicians’ Union, said she was very concerned by the BBC’s decision to be more cautious about live music broadcasts.
“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.”
The BBC’s decision came after significant political pressure. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said the incident – together with other BBC issues over Gaza coverage – could be “a problem of leadership”. Davie currently has the support of the BBC board.
There is frustration among some in the BBC that the number of people who actually saw the Bob Vylan broadcast was very small. Others say editorial cuts have aggravated issues around the monitoring of live streams.
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.”