‘Fears of new bureaucracy, legislation and costs all come true’: Brexit makes European tour ‘impossible’ for UK artists | UK News
Music industry officials are calling on the government to do more to remove barriers that have prevented UK artists from touring the EU since Brexit.
Last year, the government announced it had secured visa-free tours to around 20 EU countries.
Even so, artists say performing there is often still too expensive, with issues like equipment checks, lost instruments and lengthy border delays causing some to cancel trips. touring and gigs.
It comes after the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music last month called on the government to appoint a ‘touring tsar’ to deal with the issues.
Anabella Coldrick, chief executive officer of the Forum of Music Managers, told Sky News that extra bureaucracy, especially for newer artists, makes performing in the EU economically unviable finance.
“A lot of the things we worried about before Brexit around new bureaucracy, extra regulations, extra costs have all come true, even though we’ve been reassured by the government on numerous occasions that this is true. that won’t happen.
“We’d like to see some really clear guidelines. I think at the moment it’s complicated to understand exactly what you have to do and what you don’t have to do. And it’s very easy for you to stumble and get penalized. and got into trouble and got delayed.”
The organization says live music makes up 80% of an artist’s income.
Bristol-born singer Elles Bailey often visits around a dozen EU countries each year – and has built a huge fan base in Europe.
But complications have caused her performance plans to be scaled back, with one tour being canceled this year.
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“I think there’s just a huge amount of uncertainty right now. We have to be prepared to prevent that we’re going to be on hold,” she said.
“In the past, we would go on show day, and we were in Antwerp on show day with hours to spare. Now we have to go a day earlier.
“We had to factor in additional hotel costs, bringing the band on the road an extra day for extra travel and band expenses.”
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The APPG for Music – which includes more than 100 MPs and colleagues – has released a report which includes a statement from Sir Elton John, who has warned less established artists could be at risk of “stuck in Dover”.
“The government had a golden opportunity to fix the problem while COVID closed the tours. Although some progress was made, that opportunity was allowed to slip away,” he said.
“The heartbeat and future of our vibrant industry face having them stuck in Dover through no fault of their own.”
Sir Elton John warns of some artists being ‘stuck in Dover’
London-based band White Lies had to cancel the opening gig of their European tour in April because their truck was held for inspection in Dover.
The band’s drummer Jack Lawrence-Brown told Sky News it was a hit both financially and emotionally.
“It’s hard for our fans because so many White Lies fans will be traveling from all over Europe for the first day of the European tour, and even beyond,” he said.
“Before Brexit, we could hop on a tour bus and then our truck was loaded with our gear. We would drive to Dover, straight to France and start the demonstration. acting immediately without any hassle or trouble.
“I think whatever decision is made on the part of the government, they should aim to bring the system as close to what it was before Brexit as possible.”
Read more:
‘Every barrier in the world increased overnight’: Some bands are skipping the UK because of Brexit
Elton John warns smaller music artists risk being ‘stuck in Dover’ due to Brexit red tape
The group Best for Britain – which has previously campaigned against Brexit – claims the number of UK artists bookings for European festivals this summer is down 45% compared with 2017-19.
In a statement, the government told Sky News: “We are assisting outstanding UK musicians to adapt to the new arrangement and make touring easier and have made the case with every EU member state on the importance of touring.
“Twenty-four EU member states, including the largest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed that they offer visa and work permit free routes to UK performers and other creative professionals. We are continuing our dialogue with those whose remaining countries do not offer visa or work permit free routes.”
