According to reports, the European Commission has said that “such a deal is impossible because it would require rewriting the EU-UK Trade And Cooperation Agreement”, as well as making changes to EU rules on customs, road haulage and services.”

Despite individual countries tweaking their visa policies post-Brexit, artists are still grappling with hefty costs and bureaucratic obstacles. The challenges span from securing cultural performance Visas to obtaining transport permits for their gear.

In theory, 21 European countries allow some form of Visa-free touring for UK artists, time windows for touring are limited to at most 90 days touring every six months. Certain countries have implemented their own particular restrictions, for example France requiring musicians to be employed by a registered venue.

“There remains uncertainty and possibly a need for bilateral deals with six other member states in relation to work permits for musicians and performers for any commercial music performance or artists and crew face costly and time-consuming visa and work permit applications,” advocacy group UK Music says.

Labour must do everything they can do ensure the music industry isn’t left behind in the wake of Brexit.https://t.co/L4S2UQBOwj

— European Movement UK (@euromove) September 4, 2024

European Movement UK runs a campaign  called Face The Music, which urges the government to address the plight of musicians and other artists trying to work and tour in the EU. Labour pledged back in May before coming to power that it would work to fix the “European touring crisis”, by negotiating, ‘an agreement on touring visas’.

Dr Mike Galsworthy, Chair of European Movement UK, said: “ We really need him to be more ambitious on this front and open up conversations about mobility in general, which is what the British public want to see.”

“Remember, it’s not just musicians, it’s theatre groups, fashion photographers, dancers, comedians and British culture in all of its wonderful dimensions. Brexit has boxed them in and it’s time to tear down these walls,” he added.

In July, the Musician’s Union conducted a survey of 200 artists who had previously performed in the EU, in which 75% polled musicians reported that their bookings in the EU had declined, while 59% said that touring in the EU was no longer financially viable  54% of artist who said their merchandise sales had been affected, as well as13% of respondents who experienced all or part of their fees being withheld due to complications in connection with tax and national insurance.

“Although over half of surveyed musicians told us that touring the EU was no longer financially viable for them, we have been working with the new Labour Government to address the concerns raised, and are hopeful that the barriers can be addressed,” the Musician’s Union said in July.

This isn’t the first time that the innate lack of progress from the Tories has been highlighted either, Elton John led the charge in August after we were informed by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport that short term visas would be allowed in 19 EU countries. John said that the excitement of the announcement “quickly turned to disappointment” after the details confirmed the news was in fact too good to be true. Severe restrictions are still in place for almost all of them.

Read my thoughts on the recent announcement from @dcms pic.twitter.com/auWJ2eMI3v

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 5, 2021

Another letter, this time from the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), a society representing the working rights of over 11,000 musicians, was sent to Ms Truss. This time asking her to change the whole approach for the Brexit negotiations before the COVID-19 restrictions are all removed and musicians can get back to doing what they do best, performing. Deborah Annetts, the society’s chief executive, warns, “The sector is now facing mountains of red tape, which is both costly and time-consuming,” adding, “The proposed solutions such as bilateral agreements with EU states have not materialised, apart from with Spain, and there are serious issues with cabotage, carnets and designated ports. All these issues are adversely impacting the UK music industry and the broader creative industries, which is worth £116bn per annum, the same as finance or construction.”

Lord Kinnoull, chair of the Lords Committee said: “The creative sector is important not just to the economies of the UK and other countries concerned but also the enjoyment and wellbeing of people. It is important that the government rebuild trust with the creative industries and provide the support they need to adjust to the post-Brexit era.”

So far, however, all of these pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Squid’s tour manager Ina Tatarko explained to the publication how the frighteningly high costs of attaining visas for the group to play in Spain has meant that they have had to pull out of impending Spanish shows later this month. She stated: “With the current visa requirements for Spain, which are basically saying that you have to pay for a work visa for £409 per person, we weren’t able to play these smaller shows because it wouldn’t have been financially feasible.”

Spanish music festival Primavera Sound were promoting Black Country New Road and Squid’s upcoming shows, and on September 23^rd, stated: “In a very delicate climate due to the COVID crisis, with promoters who have been unable to programme for the last two years and bands unable to tour internationally for the same amount of time, these costs could be the final blow for an industry on which technical teams, venues and festivals depend, as well as of course the artists from one of the countries with a huge presence on our stages.”

The reality of Brexit-especially for the UK music industry- is a very unfortunate one, particularly in regard to touring groups. As the advent of Brexit crept up in 2020, many UK groups and artists began voicing their concerns about the impact Brexit would have on touring. One issue that rose above the rest was the worrying thought of additional expenses, paperwork and the time that would go into acquiring Visas, and the challenge of shipping equipment and merchandise over to mainland Europe. Whilst around 19 EU countries have reached an agreement with the UK to supply free 90 day work visas, it seems that this issue is sadly rearing its head as the easing of COVID restrictions ushers live music back into daily life.

Over 100,000 people have signed a Change.org petition entitled “Let Touring Musicians Travel: Support Musicians Working in the EU Post-Brexit”, which calls upon the UK government and Parliament to back the idea of a Musicians’ Passport, which would ideally last a minimum of two years, be inexpensive to acquire, cover all states that are members of the EU, ensures that there is no need for additional permits, and covers road crew, technicians and other staff necessary for touring musicians. Mark Davyd, The CEO of the UK Music Venue Trust, told NME last year that Brexit’s impact on touring would only be manageable for artists who were already worldwide successes, stating; “This is basically a tax on new and emerging musicians. It’s not a tax that will have any impact on your James Blunts and Roger Daltreys. Someone will sit in an office and fill in all of their paperwork.”

The list of countries that have confirmed their participation in the policy includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. The UK government then added that formal approaches have been made to Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, and Cyprus to also waive the visa requirement.

Although there remain questions over the prohibitive costs relating to gear and vehicle transport across borders, as well as other tax and duty issues. All of these present the main roadblocks to post-Brexit touring, according to UK musician bodies.

Additionally, musicians in the United Kingdom have expressed concern about Brexit’s impact on touring musicians, specifically regarding potential costly fees surrounding a visa or work permit required to tour the European Union.

The music industry still remains angry in their attitude and are adamant that they still need to do much more. Ian Smith from ‘ukeartswork’ and the #CarryOnTouring campaign argued that the government’s statement was misleading at best and in places “badly wrong”.

He told NME “Yes, we have visa and permit free work in 19 countries – however, what has not been said is that those free periods range from seven days in any one year to 14-30 days to 90 days, all with different reporting requirements. This means reporting said work to either the border police or local authorities prior to entering to work.”

He continued: “I am tired of the spin, and also to be frank this does not help given that there is no visa waiver to eliminate the substantial problem of the 90 in 180 day non-visa nationals rule which all British citizens have to abide by if not legally resident in an EU state and who are beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement.”

“Let’s make this ultra-clear: the UK government have not created any positive change by ‘engaging’ with individual EU states. They have merely been told the truth of what it means to be a third country non-visa national. Regardless of who said what way back during the negotiations, we need action now and continued action at that!”

This summer in response to these grievances we saw the launch of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign, with artists such as Wolf Alice, IDLES, Poppy Ajudha, and Radiohead among the 200 artists calling upon the UK government to take immediate action in order to resolve the ‘No Deal’ that has landed upon British music – while Elton John actually stated that the government were “philistines” for their approach.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

In an interview with The Observer, the rock artist said that “I’m livid about what the government did when Brexit happened. They made no provision for the entertainment business, and not just for musicians, actors and film directors, but for the crews, the dancers, the people who earn a living by going to Europe,” he went on to add that “It’s a nightmare…To young people just starting a career, it’s crucifying.” 

Post-Brexit rules will mean that musicians are no longer guaranteed visa-free access to countries in the EU, making touring difficult if not impossible especially for less established artists who may have less funding and influence. Although frequent touring destinations such as France and Germany are on a list of 17 countries where the government claims gigs can go ahead “without needing visas or work permits”,  there are still more layers of bureaucracy to the process which were not there pre-Brexit and which can be complex to navigate. 

John has been met with great resistance when attempting to address this issue with those in power and when asked why he thought that was he responded by condemning the present government’s attitude, stating that “The government are philistines. We’ve got used to governments – especially the British government – just telling us lies every day, and I don’t feel OK with that….Look what they did with the NHS. After all that those people did during Covid, they give them a 1% increase. I find that extraordinary. It makes me so angry. I’m 74 years of age and I just don’t get this unfairness and this ridiculous ability to lie through your teeth every fucking minute of the day.”

The future of British musicians touring in Europe remains a contentious issue post-Brexit.

In fact, the prime minister has sworn to fix last December’s Brexit deal, which did not include visa-free travel for UK artists and their staff, along with more general Europe work permits. UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin bluntly asked Johnson why the creative sectors must go through the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, to which the PM replied: ‘I want to say how strongly I share the frustrations of the sector. This is a massively important part of the economy that contributes many of billions of pounds to the economy and jobs and to the general joy of the nation. It is hugely important and they are also a massive export industry. We must fix it.’

Hence, Johnson explained that meetings with UK’s European Union partners are being organised and that he was ‘passionate’ about restoring visa-free tours for performers. The Incorporated Society of Musicians’ Chief Executive Deborah Annetts stated: ‘The Prime Minister’s commitment to fixing the crisis for the creative industries is fantastic news for a sector facing a mountain of red tape and huge new costs to tour in Europe. It is extremely encouraging that the Prime Minister is working ‘flat out’ with individual EU member states to address issues with visas, work permits and moving goods.’

Musician Union General Secretary Horace Trubridge explained: ‘The MU is greatly encouraged by the PM’s response to questions from Julian Knight MP regarding the plight of musicians looking to tour in the EU post-Brexit. We are hoping that his words will enable Ministers to achieve a relaxation in the regulations that will enable frictionless touring for musicians sooner rather than later. After the misery of COVID which has brought about the cancellation of all live performance, musicians desperately need to feel that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and we welcome that the PM has signalled that a light might be shining from the EU side. Now that the PM has spoken, we will be looking to hold the Government to deliver on his promise.’

Brexit and touring Europe https://t.co/9GJ3N3KwKb

— colingreenwood (@colingreenwood) February 8, 2021

The Incorporated Society for Musicians (ISM) have deducted that 44% of musicians earn up to half of their earnings in the EU/EEA with 43% travelling to the EU over fives times a year. 76% of UK musicians say it’s likely Brexit will stop them performing in Europe. These statistics are worrying for music-fanatics and gig-goers across the continent, halting emerging and exciting artists from touring in their cities.

British music revolves around touring and for emerging artists, Europe proposed opportunities to explore new sounds and work on their craft. Take a look at The Beatles in Hamburg for instance, who played countless gigs in the German seaport for 2 years, perfecting their music to become a global sensation. Acknowledging this important period for the band, Greenwood stated ‘Like Hamburg to the Beatles, Europe was crucial to our growth as a band. It allowed us to see ourselves untethered from our UK roots and to imagine a life in music that could reach audiences everywhere.’

Greenwood’s article follows on many recent iconic artists who are in shock at the touring negotiations for UK musicians. Sir Elton John has openly stated that the current situation is ‘ridiculous’ since ‘music is one of Britain’s greatest cultural exports’. Both Greenwood and John stated how European touring was vital to their growth as musicians and evolving their craft, expressing sadness that emerging artists will be unable to do this.

Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood writes op-ed about post-Brexit touring: “I’m worried for all the brilliant crew who have carried us as a band for nearly 30 years” https://t.co/ikyX3wOpZl pic.twitter.com/OzZu1bRC0W

— Stereogum (@stereogum) February 8, 2021

Greenwood states clearly in his article that this is a ‘tragedy of deferred dreams’ and that his ‘heart sinks at all the new costs and kerfuffle.’ Reporting on the new costs for musicians he says, ‘a £10,000 guitar would need a carnet that would cost about £650 plus VAT. The costs of travel and accommodation are already high, and the extra paperwork and expenses would rise quickly for a touring orchestra.’ Naomi Pohl, deputy general secretary of Musician’s Union confirms the rise in costs for touring British orchestras saying, “When you’re dealing with an orchestra, you’re talking about 70 musicians needing to get a work permit. So it’s a massive issue.”

280,000 musicians and fans have signed the petition to renegotiate the terms of European touring with the EU. Liam Gallagher, Dave Rowntree and Glastonbury co-organiser, Emily Eavis, are among the many that are outraged at the touring fees from EU negotiations. The debate in parliament went ahead today to discuss the terms of renegotiation. Greenwood rounds off his passionate plea for European touring to return with ‘I am proud of my country and all the music it has exchanged with the world, and I am sure that pride is felt across all ages and cultures in the UK.’

Watch Colin Greenwood on Sky News explain the necessities for renegotiation here.

The veteran British artists and knight of the realm made his thoughts very clear about the lack of consideration for musicians in the Brexit negations, saying that ‘The situation we’re now in is ridiculous. Music is one of Britain’s greatest cultural exports. It contributed £5.8bn to the British economy in 2019, but was left out of the Brexit trade negotiations when other industries weren’t.’ Despite all of this the governments response to protests from the industry following the release of the deal’s details has been reluctant at most and seemed mostly to be an attempt at shirking most of the blame to the European side.

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A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

These comments from Elton John come a couple of weeks after he announced in his Instagram profile that he had signed a letter ‘urging the UK government to fulfil its promise to negotiate permit and paperwork-free travel in Europe for British artists, their road crew and equipment.’ The announcement was paired with an image of the singer performing in Verona, Italy in 2019. The biggest concern Sir Elton John has, he says, not for himself who will still be able to perform in Europe, but for the younger emerging artists who do not have the same financially resources which come with a long established career. The singer states that ‘none of this affects me. I’m lucky enough to play big venues and have a huge organisation supporting me. My tours can absorb these costs, and I have people working for me who can sort out the admin.’

The Guardian also reports that Radiohead’s bassist Colin Greenwood has written an article due to be published tomorrow in the paper which further criticises the changes. According to Greenwood, ‘The costs of travel and accommodation are already high, and the extra paperwork and expenses would rise quickly for a touring orchestra.’ If these costs are set to be so high that musicians are worrying about the fate of touring orchestras, then surely bands emerging from grassroots venues and scenes in the UK will have an even tougher time, with European tours already operating on a shoestring budget pre-Brexit.

The situation is mired in confusion and miscommunication and pretty much everyone in the UK music industry is disappointed with how the government has handled their interests in the negotiations. After the announcement of the final Brexit deal which had not mention of visa considerations for musicians, a petition was launched to counter this and the government’s culture minister will have some difficult questions to answer when it is debated in parliament tomorrow.

After the failure of the Brexit deal proposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to secure visa-free touring for English musicians in the EU last month, a large uproar had erupted, including a petition (now) signed by over 250,000 fans of music who asked for the government to fight for artists’ rights to tour the EU without having to apply for country-specific visas.

The failure of the Brexit deal to secure visa-free touring for English musicians also meant a tremendous rise of costs for currently-touring artists and hindrance for the up-and-coming artists. Both parties blamed each-other for the outcome. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden blamed the EU, saying, “It was the EU letting down music on both sides of the Channel – not us”, while EU retorted by saying that their own offer of ‘90 days of visa free travel’ was reciprocated by the UK with only ‘30 days of visa free travel’.

Despite the outrage among musicians and the fans and the complaints voiced by the Musicians’ Union, the government rejected the idea to keep pushing for visa-free travel for musicians and just today MP Caroline Dineage stated to “take back control” was of higher precedence. 

Dineage says that wouldn't be "compatible" with the government's manifesto commitment to "take back control" of Britain's borders and that it wouldn't have enabled touring anyway.

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) January 19, 2021

Dineage also confirmed that the Brexit negotiation would mean domestic immigration checks and visas to meet for artists to be able to tour in the EU states, while blaming the EU for the rejection of ‘visa-free’ travel for musicians.

Culture minister Caroline Dineage confirms that as a result of Brexit, musicians and arts touring in the EU "will be required to check domestic immigration and minister rules for each member states in which they wish to tour."

That may include a visa or work permit.

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) January 19, 2021

Dineage blames the EU, saying they rejected proposals to ensure travel was visa free. The EU has said that's nonsense, that the British proposals would not have solved the visa problem and that they offered a 90 day visa free offer for a range of professions.

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) January 19, 2021

These claims were, however, called into question when The Independent published an article which included claims from an unnamed EU official that ‘It is usually in our agreements with third countries, that [work] visas are not required for musicians. We tried to include it, but the UK said no.’ This directly contradicts the previous claims made by UK officials that plans to include musicians in certain businesses which will be exempt from visa requirements was rejected by the EU, and points the blame squarely at them. A UK official has since told the NME that ‘this story is incorrect and misleading speculation from anonymous EU sources,’ and going on to claim that ‘The UK pushed for a more ambitious agreement with the EU on the temporary movement of business travellers, which would have covered musicians and others, but our proposals were rejected by the EU.’

Unbelievable, actually, completely believable ! https://t.co/GepTItyW4U

— LILYALLEN2.0 (@lilyallen) January 9, 2021

With so many contradicting claims from both sides musicians and their unions are left not knowing who or what to believe but still desperately concerned about the state of their industry. After a year which saw the live music sector in Britain decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and a desperately short-handed approach to cultural relief from the government, musicians are rightly worried about the future. Names as big as Lilly Allen have taken to social media to vent their frustrations with the government following the Independent article and expressed disappointment, but not surprise as they have become used to Johnson’s cabinet’s total disregard for the music industry throughout his term as Prime Minister so far. Despite being an industry that ‘contributes around £5.8bn to the UK economy,’ this doesn’t seem to be a priority for Rishi Sunak who controversially suggested musicians find other jobs while they were struggling in the aftermath of lockdown one but was happy to bail out the hospitality sector with the extremely misguided eat out to help out scheme.

As it stands, musicians will be required to apply for visa’s to work in the EU which will push costs of touring in Europe out of reach for many smaller bands and artists who are already on a very stretched budget. Despite their protestations and blame shifting, it does sadly seem to be that our government are quite happy to see live music become the domain of only the super rich who can afford multiple visas on top of travel costs and extra fees for transporting bulky items by plane. According to Elle Giles, a music manager who spoke to NME, she told of how high the costs could be, ‘Based on a band of six on a four-day tour, requiring visas for three different countries, she estimated it would cost nearly £3,500.’ Considering a tour of Europe is usually the next step taken by emerging artists to go beyond gigging in their home country, and how such bands are often unsigned or receiving limited advances from indie or major record labels, spending the best part of 4 grand on a tour which only lasts four days its something quite obscene.