According to reports, only one EU country has signed a post-Brexit deal to save UK musicians from needing expensive work permits to tour the continent.
Since the UK left the EU in January 2021, the government has failed to negotiate visa-free travel and EU-wide work permits for musicians and the team.
Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s promise to address issues that could prevent artists from touring Europe due to rising costs, only Spain has pledged to allow British musicians to visit the country without Visa.
The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is now calling on new Brexit Minister Liz Truss to solve the problems and take the same “hard-line approach” as her predecessor, Lord Frost. In a letter to the government, ISM Executive Director Deborah Annetts wrote [per the Independent]: “All the problems identified initially for the creative sector because of the ATT, in the trade agreement on Brexit, remain.
“The industry now faces mountains of red tape, which is both costly and time consuming. Proposed solutions such as bilateral agreements with EU states have not materialized, with the exception of Spain, and there are serious problems with cabotage, carnets and designated ports.
Annetts added: “All of these issues are having a negative impact on the UK music industry and the creative industries at large, which accounts for £ 116 billion a year, along with finance or construction.”
In one Tweeter Sharing an article on the letter on the official ISM Twitter account, the organization said it wanted “a visa waiver deal, progress on cabotage and carnets. [and] the end of costly paperwork ”. “These measures would make 2022 a better year for musicians,” he said.
In the Spanish deal, which was announced in November, UK musicians and their team will no longer need a visa to travel the country for less than 90 days. However, major issues regarding freight transport and cabotage rules persist, with current regulations only allowing trucks from the UK to stop in an EU state before they have only seven. days to do two more before going home.
In October, the UK government was accused of more “filming and misinformation” as no progress was made on the current touring crisis. Two months earlier, he had “announced” that “short-term” visa-free and work permit-free travel would be allowed for musicians and performers in 19 European countries. However, these rules were already in place before Brexit.
Music industry figures have continually expressed concern that the new rules and paperwork surrounding touring in Europe will result in huge costs for future live music tours for musicians and the team. This could have the effect of creating a glass ceiling that prevents emerging and developing talent from being able to afford to roam the continent.
