Brexit red tape ties up musicians touring EU and cuts into earnings
Mountains of expensive Brexit-induced paperwork is costing eight in ten British musicians their hard-earned cash, a new report has found.
Of 1,500 music artists and professionals touring Europe, one third reported post-Brexit paperwork is hurting their earnings, according to a new study by industry body UK Music, first shared with news site PoliticsHome.
Eight in ten of those said their income has dropped since the UK’s controversial retreat from the bloc three years ago — which saw freedom of movement struck out too — as British performers are now forced to spend precious time and money filling out paperwork in order to tour the EU.
As a result, to perform and work on the Continent, Britain’s musicians have to spend time filling out work permits and customs documents instead of lyric sheets.
For up-and-coming artists without the budget to fund the extra bills, the effects are worse and compounded by the cost of living crisis.
In the survey, 43 per cent of respondents said the EU is financially out of bounds for them now, while 65 per cent said they have received fewer invites to tour the bloc.
Morning Wire contacted the government for comment.
A government spokesperson told Politics Home: “We have confirmed that almost all EU member states, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers and other creative professionals.
“We are supporting the UK’s brilliant artists to adapt to the new arrangements and continue to make the case to every EU member state about the importance of touring.
“We are continuing dialogue with those few remaining countries which do not offer visa or work permit-free routes to make touring easier.”