Member-only story
If we’re being honest, Brexit has been an absolute disaster, the whole way through. Most recently, Brexit has claimed the music industry as its latest victim, and as a result of this, touring musicians and their careers have been placed in to jeopardy. To put this into context, the EU touring market for UK artists was the world’s biggest, nearly four times the size of the US, not to mention the fact that the UK touring industry provides over 33,000 British jobs. But nothing nor no one seems to want to do anything about the potentially catastrophic blow to the industry.
The touring music businesses that would previously have been granted the freedom of travel in all respects pre-Brexit now face an influx of new costs when working across Europe, including carnets, visas, and work permits. Meanwhile artists and their touring vehicles will be limited to three stops in Europe before having to return back home, yet the government still remain reluctant to act to amend these issues. What’s more, the government’s failure to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew in their post-Brexit deal frustratingly continues with no clear end in sight. If only they cared about music as much as they did about the fishing industry.
