Post-Brexit touring deal blow? The industry reacts
Live music industry leaders in the UK have played down a report that the European Union (EU) has ruled out easing post-Brexit restrictions on British touring acts.
Labour pledged to improve EU touring for UK artists by “tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade” as part of its manifesto prior to its landslide general election victory in July.
But according to internal documents seen by the Financial Times, Brussels says a deal to cut post-Brexit red tape compelling touring musicians to obtain cultural performance visas and transport permits is not possible, as it would require rewriting the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
Moreover, the European Commission – the executive arm of the EU – was “not prepared to consider” the necessary amendments to regulations on customs, road haulage and services.
“The briefings repeatedly warn of the need to ‘manage expectations’ in London, given [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer’s refusal to rejoin the EU single market, accept freedom of movement, or form a customs union with the bloc,” adds the report.
Insiders suggest the documents are a sign of pre-positioning from both sides as they prepare for negotiations, which cannot begin until a new commission is formed later this year. A senior EU official tells the FT it is open to compromise, adding: “We have a track record of finding solutions.”
“We welcome the renewed impetus from both sides to solve this issue, and recognise negotiations are needed to find a solution”
Jon Collins, CEO of UK trade body LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), remains hopeful an agreement can be reached.
“Venues, festivals, and artists across both the UK and EU are suffering under the current touring arrangements,” he says. “It is widely recognised that improvements to these touring rules are needed to bring major economic and cultural benefits to both European member states and the UK.
“We welcome the renewed impetus from both sides to solve this issue, and recognise negotiations are needed to find a solution. We agree with the EU Domestic Advisory Group’s view that the solution to touring problems could be delivered without the need to revise the Trade and Co-operation Agreement.”
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) established the #LetTheMusicMove umbrella campaign in June 2021 to galvanise the music industry’s work on the topic, calling for reductions in post-Brexit costs and red tape for UK artists and musicians when touring in Europe.
In a joint statement to IQ, MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick and FAC chief David Martin say the issue is of fundamental importance to their members.
“While this FT report raises concerns, I don’t think anyone was under any illusions that these challenges would be alleviated in the short term”
“Outside the UK, Europe has typically provided the next step up for artists and musicians looking to build a live touring career,” they said. “In 2019, it represented the largest overseas market for UK artists, four times bigger than the US. But given the increased costs they’re already shouldering to get live shows on the road, the additional burden of red tape and bureaucracy is potentially crippling for the next generation of British talent. It is vital we find a solution that allows cultural movement to flow more freely.
“While this FT report raises concerns, I don’t think anyone was under any illusions that these challenges would be alleviated in the short term. They are part of wider discussions around freedom of movement and other trading negotiations.
“Obviously, we need the UK government to be committed to finding solutions. They made a manifesto commitment to do this. With MPs returning to parliament this week, we are already in the process of reestablishing contact and pushing for urgent progress.”
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Orgs set out ‘new European vision for touring’
A pan-European coalition of music organisations is calling on EU member states to engage in dialogue with the sector around the issue of cross-border touring.
IAO, IMPALA, FIM, EMEE, Live DMA, Liveurope and EMMA have joined forces in the wake of Spain taking over the presidency of the EU Council a few weeks ago.
The groups have written an open letter entitled A New European Vision for Touring, which puts forward potential solutions to “the long-standing issues faced by the music sector”.
“There is a need for a new vision for European touring that enhances security, co-operation and cross-border cultural exchange across the EEA, while also enhancing European culture and live experience,” say the letter. “Facilitating live shows is crucial for artists and labels who were entirely deprived of their performance revenues for more than two years with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is also crucial for Europe’s cultural competitiveness, at a time where non-European repertoire overperforms in the region. And let’s not forget that promoting cross border tours within the EEA will also have a positive impact on sustainability in the sector.
“Improved mobility will provide greater artist engagement through new routes and slow touring in Europe’s regions, as new opportunities will serve less pressure for tours to cover only major cities to maximise profits at the expense of high mileage. This will be vital for the music sector’s role in mitigating the current energy crisis and assisting the EU’s green transition.”
“Europe’s support of its cultural and creative sector during the pandemic was inspiring, let’s build on that to fix the long-standing issues faced by the music sector”
In order to achieve “lasting” positive change, it adds, mobility questions “should be mapped and reassessed in light of their real experiences and impact to economic and cultural competitiveness”.
“Do we need a simplified process, particularly given the lasting impact of Covid?” it continues. “What steps do we need to take to reduce red tape and boost European culture? Do we need a European cultural area and a new status for artists and cultural workers in terms of visas? The question of mobility in greater Europe is vital but understandably complex in the current climate.”
The organisations say establishing a dialogue with EU members would be a first step to tackling the main challenges of touring, which it lists as visa issues, carnets, excessive” tax burdens, future-proofing cabotage rules, funding opportunities at EU level, and obstacles for carrying musical instruments on planes.
“Our call asks for the continuation of initiatives that have already proved essential to the sector, namely: the opportunity for the European Commission to launch studies within the Culture Council work programme which helped further knowledge and understanding of the music sector, its needs and challenges,” adds the letter. “We also recommend that the topic of mobility is added to the next work programme.”
It concludes: “Europe’s support of its cultural and creative sector during the pandemic was inspiring, let’s build on that to fix the long-standing issues faced by the music sector.”
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Liveurope receives €2.1m grant to boost new talent
Venue association Liveurope has pledged to continue boosting the circulation of new European talent for the next three years after being selected for EU funding for the third consecutive time.
The Brussels-based organisation will see its annual budget increase by 40% (from €500,000 per year for 2014-2021 to €700,000 for 2022-2024), totalling €2.1m over three years, and aims to play an active role in the ongoing recovery of the live music sector post-pandemic. It has also welcomed five new venues, taking its membership from 15 to 20.
The platform supports music venues across the continent to book the most promising European artists, distributing grants to its members in proportion to the amount of young acts they book. On average, the model has helped the venues book 63% more emerging European non-national acts than prior to joining.
“After these difficult years for our sector, we’re proud to continue growing our European collaboration and support more venues boost their European programming,” says Elise Phamgia, Liveurope’s coordinator. “Through this, we hope to help them present more European music diversity to their audiences.”
“Liveurope has changed our programming approaches and given our audiences access to new acts they might not have discovered otherwise”
Established in 2014 with support from the European Union, nearly 3,000 artists have benefited from the platform’s support including now established names such as Christine and the Queens, Rosalía and MØ.
“Liveurope has changed our programming approaches and given our audiences access to new acts they might not have discovered otherwise,” says Matjaz Mancek, head of music at Kino Siska in Slovenia.
Liveurope is also introducing new priorities and activities to further strengthen its impact on the sector and the promotion of European diversity. The platform will actively engage on urgent societal topics such as ecology and gender balance, fostering cross-border discussions among the members and coming up with concrete tools to tackle them.
Upcoming editions of the flagship Liveurope rotating festival will also now include training and coaching sessions to further support artists’ development.
“Liveurope is a key partner in our shared efforts to give emerging artists the opportunity to go on stage, and to meet and develop their audiences across Europe,” adds Mariya Gabriel, European commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth
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The Brexit deal: What we know so far
The live music industry has been left with many unanswered questions by the post-Brexit trade deal, which was agreed upon by the UK and the EU on Christmas Eve (24 December).
The deal, which was signed into law yesterday, takes effect at 11 pm GMT today (31 December) – four-and-a-half years after the UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum and almost a year after the UK officially left the EU.
While much of the impact on touring musicians and productions is still unclear, IQ spoke with specialists across concert hauliers, freight and visas, to identify the current state of play for the live music business.
Concert Hauliers
According to Richard Burnett, CEO, Road Haulage Association, the biggest issue the new Free Trade Agreement presents to concert hauliers is restricted access to the market. This is due to reduced cabotage – a restriction of movements within a country.
Before Brexit, concert hauliers were not restricted in the number of times they could unload and load productions on a European tour. From tomorrow, trucks over 3.5 tonnes are limited to just three internal movements.
“So, a haulier could drop off a load in Paris, pick up a load in Paris, and then take it to Leon. And then the haulier would have to come home,” Burnett explains. The cabotage rules are also reciprocal; European trucks touring the UK would have equally limited movements.
From tomorrow, trucks over 3.5 tonnes are limited to just three internal movements
An estimated 85% of the European concert trucking business is based from the UK. Burnett says that currently, the only way those hauliers can continue to provide the same service they have for decades is by setting up a European operation which “costs a lot of money… hauliers have already had the worst year in their history due to Covid and are struggling enormously as it is.”
Seeking an exemption from the current rules, the Road Haulage Association and umbrella trade group LIVE is lobbying the UK Government to intervene and prevent large-scale European touring out of the UK from effectively being unable to resume in 2021.
ATA carnets
The carnet system will once again apply within Europe, as it did prior to the UK’s membership of the EU, and in line with other non-EU international tours.
It will now be necessary for tours to obtain ATA Carnets for all equipment travelling outside of the UK on a temporary basis. And while the carnet process is well established, its reintroduction is expected to add friction and cost to European touring, with its impact felt more intensely by grassroots and emerging artists.
“Merchandise shipments and any other consumable items cannot be shipped on a carnet so they will probably have to enter the EU on a permanent basis and, whilst they should be duty-free, a local company in the European destination country will have to take responsibility for the VAT due on the import,” says John Corr at Sound Moves.
While the carnet process is well established, its reintroduction is expected to add friction and cost to European touring
In terms of logistics, Corr points out that the new deal will require all trucks of 7.5 tonnes and above to have submitted customs clearance details and obtained a Kent Access Permit to be allowed to enter the county, to then make use of one of the document processing facilities and be allowed to board and cross.
His colleague, Martin Corr, stresses the inevitable delays tours will suffer while everyone gets used to the new customs procedures and processes.
“In the long term, promoters, managers and productions managers will have to budget for extra costs in relation to raising and bonding carnets. At the same time, itineraries will need to be carefully scrutinised to allow for the extra time and potential delays whilst carnets and other documents – including those for the truck and the drivers – are presented, approved, and customs and immigration release obtained,” he says.
Visas
For outbound immigration (UK to EU), visa requirements for touring musicians and crew will, in the future, be up to each individual country and enquiries are underway regarding immigration regulations applicable to each individual member state for outbound mobility from the UK.
A recent blog post by immigration specialists Viva La Visa states that, “The hoped-for provision for a dedicated clear permit free route for UK performers and their crews to operate in the EU was not there”. Industry associations are subsequently pressing for urgent clarification.
For inbound immigration, from tomorrow EU musicians (and entourages) will be coming into the UK through any of the existing three routes that apply to non-visa nationals: Certificates of Sponsorship (Tier 5), Permitted Paid Engagements (PPE) and Permit Free Festivals.
Various petitions have been launched in relation to musicians working in the EU post-Brexit including ‘Seek Europe-wide Visa-free work permit for Touring professionals and Artists‘ which will be debated in Parliament after surpassing 100,000 signatures, and the Musicians’ Union’s ‘Musicians’ Passport’ campaign.
IQ will be updating readers as further details of the new Brexit deal are clarified…
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EU: Festivals, concerts to be last to reopen
The European Commission has published a set of guidelines on how member states should start to emerge from lockdown, indicating that mass gatherings such as festivals and concerts may be the last kind of social activity to restart.
In the document, entitled ‘Joint European Roadmap towards lifting Covid-19 containment measures’, the commission suggests a “progressive” reinstatement of gatherings of people.
The sequencing proposed in the document, starting with the reopening of educational institutes, followed by retail activity, the return of restaurants, cafes and bars and then of mass gatherings, is in accordance with exit plans laid out by governments in Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, where large events will recommence after the reopening of some other parts of society.
The commission stresses the need for a gradual lifting of measures, saying that sufficient time should be left between each step, offering one month as an example period.
The document also outlines a “phased approach” for the opening of both internal and external borders, with restrictions on travel between areas with “comparably low reported circulation of the virus” easing first, leading to the eventual restoration of “the normal functioning of the Schengen area”.
“Successfully coordinating the lifting of containment measures at EU level will also positively impact the EU’s recovery”
“The gradual reopening of borders should give priority to cross-border and seasonal workers and should avoid any discrimination against EU mobile workers,” reads the report. “In the transition phase, the efforts to maintain an unobstructed flow of goods and to secure supply chains should be reinforced.”
Access of non-EU residents to the EU will be granted in a “second stage”, taking into account the spread of the virus.
The EU commission states its intention to ensure more coordination between its member states. Members of the live industry, including Dutch agency collective United Independent Music Agencies, have criticised the lack of collaboration at EU level.
“In order to streamline coordination efforts, the Commission will be ready to develop further guidance, when necessary or requested, in order to ensure a gradual transition from general confinement,” the report concludes. “The more such transition is coordinated at EU level, the more negative spill-overs between Member States will be avoided and the implementation of measures across different Member States will be mutually reinforcing.
“Successfully coordinating the lifting of containment measures at EU level will also positively impact the EU’s recovery.”
Photo: Thijs ter Haar/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) (cropped)
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UK culture minister: free movement “essential” for artists
The UK minister for sport, media and creative industries, Nigel Adams, has stated that the UK government will endeavour to support continued freedom of movement for touring musicians after the country leaves the European Union on 31 January.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday (21 January), Adams stressed the importance of touring – “the lifeblood of the industry” – and of freedom of movement for “musicians, equipment and merchandise”.
“Visa rules for artists performing in the EU will not change until the implementation period ends in December 2020. It’s absolutely essential that free movement for artists is protected post-2020,” said Adams.
Michael Dugher, former CEO of umbrella body UK Music, previously described the prospect of losing free movement as “a death knell for touring”, with many other industry figures raising concerns over the additional costs, delays and red tape artists would face in a post-Brexit world.
“It’s absolutely essential that free movement for artists is protected post-2020”
The minster also stated the government was committed to supporting the “fantastic UK music industry at home and abroad”, adding that a “comprehensive music strategy” needed to be implemented to ensure the industry “continues to be the envy of the world”.
The Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music, Conor McGinn, noted that the UK music industry “punches well above its weight economically”, citing the £5.2 billion it generates each year, as well as having a “profound effect on health and wellbeing”.
McGinn admitted that “challenges still exist” with regards to business rates for music venues – which were addressed both in the ruling Conservative Party manifesto and in the Queen’s speech – asking when relief would come in.
The debate was praised by Tom Kiehl, deputy CEO of UK Music, who says: “I would like to thank all the MPs from across the political spectrum who made such brilliant and heartfelt contributions about the importance of the UK music industry to our economy and society.
“We look forward to working with [Adams] on the new music strategy and a host of other areas to continue to grow our industry.”
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