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‘Caught In The Middle Of A Political Impasse’: Brexit Red Tape Highlighted
The UK’s Musicians’ Union (MU) ran a survey earlier this year, asking members and the wider music community about the current issues they are facing when touring in the EU.
The key findings from more than 200 reponses:
- 75% of respondents, who had previously worked in the EU prior to the UK’s departure told the MU, that their bookings had declined.
- 79% said they had been unable to make up for the loss of that work by touring elsewhere in the world.
- 59% said touring the EU was no longer financially viable.
- 22% of respondents said their volume of work had decreased by 75% and as a result, they no longer worked in the EU.
- 72% said their income from work in the EU had decreased.
- Those applying for an ATA Carnet – the permit for the export and import of band equipment, including instruments – reported additional costs between £300 ($393) and £2,000 ($2,619).
- 41% said they had to hire equipment in the EU to avoid the cost of a Carnet, and 35% had to hire transport in the EU.
- 54% said their merchandise sales had been affected, and 24.5% said they experienced difficulties when moving merchandise between the UK and EU.
- 13% of respondents experienced all or part of their fees being withheld due to complications in connection with tax and national insurance.
The MU is working closely with UK trade bodies LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment), and UK Music (both of which the Union is a member of), to make government address the issues that touring musicians are facing.
They will also work with their EU counterparts to help touring musicians and their crews from both the UK and the EU.
It’s not just the decision makers in the UK that are obstructing meaningful advances to facilitate touring between the UK and Europe. As the Financial Times reported earlier this month, Brussels won’t loosen post-Brexit curbs on UK touring musicians either.
Thank EU for the Music, a crowdfunded pro-EU campaign group representing touring musicians, picked the case of 28-year old musician Aalok from London, who plays the theremin. On Saturday, Sept. 14, he will be joining other musicians to play outside the Royal Albert Hall to concertgoers attending the Last Night of the BBC Proms to raise awareness of EU touring musicians.
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If Aalok wanted to perform on European mainland, he’d currently have to obtain aforementioned carnet; carefully plan his tour in the Schengen area to not exceed 90 days in any 180 days; sort out individual work permits and visa requirements for all the 27 EU countries he intends to tour in; arrange additional cabotage costs and paperwork for vehicles larger than a splitter van; obtain the correct certification if his instrument is of a rare wood or ivory; organize the correct documentation and relevant VAT registrations if he intends to sell merchandise on tour; notify local authorities in each EU country he tours in of his presence and intention to perform a fee-paying engagement.
All of this red tape has created a situation, where UK performers are finding themselves “caught in the middle of this political impasse,” as a press release from the campaign group puts it.
What makes pro-EU campaigners hopeful is Britain’s new Labour government, which has “pledged to solve this impasse in their manifesto. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have been in dialogue with EU partners about touring artists and are engaged with the Musicians’ Union.”
David Webster, MU Head of International, commented, “Thankfully, we now have a government who are listening to our concerns and have pledged to take our issues to the EU to try to reach an understanding for touring musicians and their crews.”