Music sector urges British government to negotiate with the EU agreement for artists to circulate freely in Europe

By Emmanuel Legrand

After the Brexit deal was agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union, just before Christmas, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said "Britain has won nothing and has lost a continent."

  This will ring true to British artists, who are likely to experience the return of cumbersome and costly administrative procedures, such as applying for visas and work permits in each of the European Union countries they want to visit, in order to be able to exercise their trade on the continent.

  The Musician's Union (MU) was one of the first to react to the news about the agreement by stating that despite constant warnings from organisations such as the MU about the necessity to carve in the agreement a provision that would allow for artists to freely circulate within the EU, nothing has materialised.

No extra cost post Brexit

  “Over the past few years we have told the government in every possible way that a Brexit deal needs to make provisions for touring musicians. We have nearly 90,000 petition signatures calling for a Musicians’ Passport, hundreds of MPs have spoken on behalf of our members in parliament and Ministers have assured us over and over again that they will ensure that touring musicians will not be subject to extra cost or admin post Brexit," said MU general secretary Horace Trubridge (pictured, below), who lamented that "this deal does not address any of our concerns."

  "In the short term," he added, "we urge the government to add musicians to the list of ‘Independent Professionals’ at the earliest opportunity. In the longer term, we will be lobbying for a reciprocal arrangement with the EU that will allow musicians to work unimpeded."

  The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) said the prospect of touring visas and working permits "will have huge implications for UK musicians who work within the EU, as the ISM’s most recent Brexit report found that 78% of musicians visit EU/EEA at least once a year to perform." The ISM added that it was “deeply concerned about the absence of visa-free travel provisions for working musicians."

Need for a free cultural work permit

  A petition calling for visa-free work permit for touring professionals and artists, initiated by camera director Tim Brennan has received over 200,000 signatures as of January 3, ensuring that not only will it get a response from the government (10,000 signatures are required), but that it would be considered for debate in Parliament (100,000 signatures needed).

  Brennan wrote: "We would like the UK Govt to negotiate a free cultural work permit that gives us visa free travel throughout the 27 EU states for music touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, TV and sports celebrities that tour the EU to perform shows and events & Carnet exception for touring equipment." 

  He added: "The UK has a huge music/event touring industry which has suffered immensely due to Covid. After the end of the transition period, we face further hardship when trying to tour the EU on a professional basis, with potentially each country asking for its own visa, that would be valid only for one trip. As a freelancer I and many like me travel through the EU countless times a year on different tours and events, this will become impossible due to cost and time if we do not have visa free travel."

A key area of concern

  Overall, what is at stake is the ability for the British creative industries to continue to develop and earn revenues from the EU. “News of a deal is welcome and has removed some of the uncertainty facing the music industry,” said Jamie Njoku-Goodwin (pictured, below), chief executive of music industry's umbrella organisation UK Music. “However, there are still many questions about the future arrangements for those working in our industry, in particular what it means for touring."



  He added that while touring was "the key area of concern," UK Music also identified "exports and copyrights as areas where the industry needs reassurance."

Proposals rejected by the EU

  A government spokeswoman told the BBC that the UK "pushed for a more ambitious agreement with the EU on the temporary movement of business travelers, which would have covered musicians and others, but our proposals were rejected by the EU."

  She added: "We recognise that there could be some additional processes for those working in creative industries, but we have ensured that the visa application processes for longer-term business travel will be transparent to provide certainty and clarity."