Kate Nash tells MPs she has to 'sell pictures of her bum' to fund tour amid spiralling live music costs

The singer gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on post-Brexit rules affecting performing arts, touring and working in the EU.

Nash told MPs that she lost £26,000 on her most recent tour of Europe and £13,000 on her last tour of the UK due to rising costs.

She shared her guilt at being forced to lay off a crew member just before Christmas, adding: “I was doing everything I could do to cut costs, which I really hate doing as an employer.”

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Nash told MPs: “We are at risk of losing our reputation and pride in our culture, which will have a knock-on effect on the UK economy.

"The more we limit artists, the more we limit UK culture on a global scale.”

The singer went on to warn MPs that tours will soon be exclusively for the wealthy if the issue is not addressed.

She added: “Having been an artist for 20 years, having the success I do, the fanbase I do, selling thousands of tickets and having millions of streams – I’m within my rights to protect that integrity.

“I think music should not be exclusive, it’s for all, and it becomes an issue of class, it becomes an issue of race, gender and sexuality and identity, because the doors are closing on who can choose to take that kind of risk.

"That is really real – if a new artist doesn’t have disposable income I don’t understand how they would be able to do shows in the UK, let alone in Europe.

“I think there is a pipeline we are not thinking through about the future of UK music and how we are seen culturally around the world.”

The singer said despite her success, she can only fund her tours because of her Only Fans account, which she claims she started during her last touring cycle to “get some attention on the issue, which it did.

“Myself and a lot of artists are sick of screaming into the void on how difficult it is.”

Nash explained: “I didn’t really believe how dire the situation was, but after being on the road for a while I was really stressing about how I am going to pay all of my invoices before Christmas.

“I thought this is something I can do quite quickly, make an impact, talk about the problem – and financially, it really did quite help me.”

Nash also reveals she knows musicians who are selling their instruments, furniture and even their homes to cover the costs.

She added: “Sometimes, I’m offered a gig in Europe and I can’t say yes because I will lose money doing it.”

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She criticised entertainment companies such as Spotify and Live Nation for benefiting from musicians’ work while they struggle to make money.

She said: “Live Nation, Spotify and the major labels are responsible for a lot, if not all, of the problems going on in the industry.

“I think they’ve been very destructive to artists and artists’ lives, and to the potential of young new artists who have a dream of working in the music industry.”

She continued: “We are being asked to take all of the risk, and they are sharing the majority of the profits in quite extreme ways.

“I think we need to point the floodlights at these major companies that profit from us.”

She described the music industry as having a “broken core”, adding: “We are completely desperate at this point.

“Anything that can be done that makes it easier and more financially viable helps.

“We need all the help that we can get in a basically unregulated industry that is, in my opinion, exploitative.”

Fellow singer Lily Allen has also revealed she makes more money by selling pictures of her feet on OnlyFans than she does from Spotify streams.