Musicians have created a Brexit storm in a teacup
Keep calm and carry on rocking. British musicians can still tour Europe. That was the message coming through from agents, promoters and tour managers yesterday. Some of the UK’S biggest music stars have written to the Government demanding action to ensure visa-free touring in the European Union. Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Sting, Liam Gallagher, Robert Plant, Radiohead and The 1975 are among 110 artists who signed an open letter claiming to have been “shamefully failed” by the Government over post-brexit travel rules for UK musicians.
The letter is the latest salvo in a simmering row over whether the UK Government rejected an EU offer of 90-day visa-free tours by musicians to EU countries. Many within the music industry have reacted with outrage and alarm at the prospect of British musicians being tied up in visa fees, complex customs declarations and red tape that might make it all but impossible for them to ply their trade in Europe. Thom Yorke of Radiohead was widely applauded by his peers when he branded the Government “spineless f---s”.
But when I spoke to several people involved in actually putting on concert tours in Europe, I got a very different perspective. “I’m hearing a lot of musicians complaining, but musicians have never had to sort it out for themselves,” points out Chris Pleydell, an independent promoter and music business consultant.
A key point made is that there has never been a one-size-fits-all solution to touring in Europe. Germany and the northern countries are relatively simple places to set up tours, certain Mediterranean countries have more complicated local ordinances, and France has always been a nightmare of bureaucracy. “You need someone on the ground, a local partner in every country, and that’s always going to be the case,” according to Pleydell.
“The local promoter will send any forms to fill in and tell you if there’s a fee to pay, which there usually isn’t.
It appears tours could get more complicated, with higher ticket costs
France can be a pain in the butt, because of tax rules. But for most places, it is one or two pages, bogstandard touring stuff: passport numbers, dates of birth, purpose of visit. You don’t need a working visa. This is the kind of thing road managers deal with all the time. It’s a storm in a backstage teacup.”
In a liaison select committee parliamentary session on January 13, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted there was no cause for concern: “Before everybody gets worried about it, what I should stress is that what we have is the right for UK musicians to go and play in European countries, EU countries, for 90 out of 180 days.”
That seems pretty unambiguous. “At the moment, our industry is focused on the visa and work permit issue, but it’s trying to find a solution where there’s no problem,” according to Craig Stanley, an agent with UK promoter Marshall Arts, whose clients include Sir Paul Mccartney and Celine Dion.
Paul Fenn is an agent with Asgard Promotions and co-founder of the Entertainment Agents’ Association. Fenn points out that under the new post-brexit agreement, EU countries will treat British people as thirdcountry nationals, subject to the same rules that apply to Americans, Canadians and Australians. “Americans don’t need a visa, in most cases. The promoter will file paperwork locally and it all goes on behind the scenes. When I bring an American act over for a European tour, they will go to six or seven different countries, the office will send out a spreadsheet to promoters which breaks down all their passport information, and normally that’s all they need. It works smoothly.”
But it does not mean there are no potholes in the road ahead. The real problems lie with the trucks carrying musical equipment. “As with other haulage businesses, you’ve got to declare your goods,” says Neil O’brien, an agent and promoter for artists including UB40. “In the case of music, it’s your equipment. You’ve got a long list of what you’re transporting from venue to venue and you have to have the paperwork, known as a carnet, and you may have to pay a small tax for it. It’s a whole new level of paperwork, and those fees and costs are going to be passed on to local promoters, venues and ultimately audiences.”
Europe remains a huge key market for British music. As recently as 2019, it was estimated that almost a quarter of all albums sold in Europe were British. UK acts have always been among the leading live attractions on the continent. Post-brexit, it appears tours could get more complicated to organise, with higher ticket prices. But the consensus among those who actually put them on is that as long as European audiences want to see British musicians, promoters will find a way to keep the show on the road.
And, whether we like it or not, there is a window to iron out teething problems, because right now there are no gigs on the horizon. Most people I spoke to admitted it was unlikely that the live scene would get moving again until the fourth quarter of 2021, at the earliest. “This might look like a big problem any other time,” according to O’brien. “But in the light of the pandemic, it seems like we’ve got time to work things out.”