Progress report

Despite the UK government’s announcements of major advances in negotiations, the impact of Brexit continues to be a cause for concern among British musicians and organisations

Open skies? A British Airways flight lands at Frankfurt Airport

JACEK HALICKI

This year began with music industry bodies scratching their heads at the ambiguities that seeped out from the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). EU visas and work permits, CITES musical instrument certificates (MICs), social security coordination and ATA carnet customs documents were among the areas of concern. With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and a new artistic season upon us, navigating the labyrinth of Brexit and post-lockdown administration is now more than just a daunting prospect. In August the UK government announced that British musicians would be able to engage in short-term touring to several EU countries without a visa or work permit. At the time, industry bodies gave a cautious welcome, but to what extent has this reassured touring musicians – and is it indicative of general progress made from negotiations around the table?

‘I’m not sure any negotiation on this has actually been undertaken,’ says the Musicians’ Union’s assistant general secretary Phil Kear. ‘As far as I can see, the 19 states in question offered reciprocal visa-free short-term touring right from the outset. The positive is that the government has investigated the situation and confirmed and published the details. This is a step forward from simply pointing people in the direction of the EU member states’ immigration websites.’

So, has any progress been made at all towards the government’s stated aim of ‘frictionless and adminfree mobility’ for UK- and EU-touring musicians? ‘There has not been as much progress as we had hoped,’ says Mark Pemberton, director of the Association of British Orchestras. ‘Core to the problem is the failure to negotiate the visa waiver agreement, owing to the government rejecting the EU’s offer on the grounds it breached its commitment to the British people to “take back control” of the UK’s borders. As a result, anyone going into the EU to do paid work is treated as a visa national. We have at least been able to establish that carnets will not be needed by individual musicians carrying their own instrument, though they will still be needed for bulk shipments. And thankfully, all member states agreed to sign up to continued social security coordination. The shocker in the TCA was the implementation of limits on road haulage to no more than three laden journeys before the vehicle must return to the UK. That makes the standard model of orchestras moving their own instruments in their own truck with their own driver to multiple venues impossible. The UK government has no solution to this and has said it has no intention of renegotiating the Agreement.’

What remain the biggest challenges facing musicians touring throughout 2021–22? ‘In addition to the well-documented issues around visas and permits, a further issue impacting music post-Brexit that is still unresolved relates to the cabotage rules,’ stresses UK Music’s chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin. ‘As Britain is now a third country to the EU, UK-based touring trucks and vans will be limited in terms of the movements they can make across the Continent. This could render international multi-country tours from the UK unviable and destroy a huge part of the sector’s ecosystem in the process.’

‘Artists, musicians and crew face new costs and bureaucracy as a result of leaving the EU’

LASZLO EMMER / FESTIVAL ACADEMY BUDAPEST

Speaking as part of the campaign group Let the Music Move, Annabella Coldrick, CEO of the Music Managers Forum, is critical of the lack of clarity for musicians. ‘There’s been minimal progress, and mid-level and emerging artists in particular are still facing an alarming lack of clarity about costs, red tape and logistics,’ she says. ‘There has still been no official guidance published for touring in those 19 countries, and we’re still awaiting clarity for the other 8 countries – including Spain – which represent a third of the EU.

And that’s before you throw in the added costs of carnets and the rules around cabotage that make it potentially illegal for a UKregistered van to make more than three stops in mainland Europe.’

What does the government need to do to support its touring musicians better? ‘Rejoin the EU!’ says Kear. ‘Far-fetched, yes; but currently to achieve “frictionless and admin-free mobility” they would need to negotiate visa-free touring with the additional 8 states, persuade each state individually to offer work permit free touring, get agreement on scrapping carnets and cabotage requirements and negotiate a tax treaty with each state which avoided any chance of double taxation of touring UK performers. Based on each EU state’s level of flexibility to operate its own mobility, tax and work rules for non-EU visitors, it’s an impossible task. ‘The UK fishing industry is substantially smaller than the music industry, yet the government has stepped up and provided funding to help manage Brexit-related impacts,’ says Njoku-Goodwin. ‘Artists, musicians and crew also face new costs and bureaucracy as a result of leaving the EU. Therefore, a Transitional Support Package is required by the music sector to manage this.’ Coldrick agrees. ‘One of the key things we’ve been asking for is a transition fund that would help underwrite some of these costs and burdens, giving everyone some breathing space until frictionless and admin-free mobility has been achieved,’ she says. ‘With live music events now starting up again, we believe this is a realistic request. The government has given these kinds of packages to other, smaller industries such as fishing, and we believe music and culture deserve similar.’