The very real threat of the past month has now come to pass with Britain voting to leave the European Union and apart from the political upheaval and financial crash it has a real potential for disaster among the music industry. The impact of the decision will affect trade, free movement, and international support networks i.e. every aspect of their business.
It’s important to note at the moment this is still speculative and even experts agree on that but they seem to be very nervous that it could well turn into a reality. It would mean that there would be no free movement across much of Europe’s mainland. That could have two expensive and complicated implications for touring bands and artists: individual visa’s to enter each country and the introduction of a ‘carnet’ : a document detailing every single piece of equipment on deck, to prevent the import or export of products without paying VAT. It costs between £1000—£2000 (approximately $1400—$2900), and it lasts 12 months.
We’re talking total chaos, not to mention hours of time wasted, and a serious knock-on effect to the scheduling of back-to-back tour dates. And that is if bands and artists can get the necessary visas in the first place: If we end up with the situation where UK artists need a Schengen visa to perform in the European Union, it will be hugely detrimental to developing artists as Schengen rules require proof of funds, either in the form of travelers checks, or bank history, if promoters also need to be visa sponsors they could be far less willing to take a risk on artists.
These are very real concerns voiced by booking agents, sound and tour management producers along with accountants and business advisers to large UK acts.
Limiting artists’ access to Europe would also be artistically detrimental, says Rob Challice, a director at top booking firm Coda Agency Ltd. “[Leaving] would affect live music, the music business as a whole, and I think on a creative level, it would set back the UK by a number of years. Music from the UK is so exciting, it’s so cross-pollinated—why would you wanna pull up the drawbridge on that?”
Colin Roberts, Big Life Management (Bloc Party):
Getting visas an absolute minefield and it costs a lot of money, and it’s the reason that a lot of people don’t get to tour America. Even going to a country like Japan where visas are quite easy to get, I know how difficult it is having to factor in the cost and the time to acquire a visa. A large part of the PRS [Performing Rights Society] fund goes towards helping bands get to America. Are we gonna be at a point where they’ll have to start a fund to get people into Europe? What a fucking horrible idea that is. I can’t see a world in which that isn’t a backwards step. Britain is a hugely important music market, and I think it would be a two-way street, where not only would our acts struggle—and it’s the small acts that would really struggle—but we would miss out on a hell of a lot of interesting artists that potentially wouldn’t be able to come to the UK either.
Sarah-Anne Grill, independent tour manager and festival organizer:
I am from Austria—touring the UK is really shit, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. You just get the bare minimum. [Venues] pay for no production, no backline, and everyone’s like, ‘You should be happy you’re allowed to play in the UK.’ Even though the UK is built on festivals and musical culture, they don’t really put a lot of funding into it, whereas in the rest of Europe, they fund it. So I think if the UK leaves the EU, there will be even less emphasis on cultural programmes and how to deal with touring artists, because they’ve got no comparison, and they don’t need to compare themselves because they stand alone.
Record Labels + Copyright Issues
According to a recent BPI survey, 68 percent of participating British record labels wish to see the UK remain in the European Union. “British music accounts for a quarter of the total market in Europe for recorded music,” said chief executive Geoff Taylor. “This success helps to create jobs in the UK and fund exceptionally high levels of investment by British labels into new music.” BPI label members were also concerned about retaining influence over the protection of the music they create: 90 percent believed it was important to remain involved in the discussions surrounding proposed new pan-European Union copyright rules.
Some more key figures from the survey:
- 47 percent indicated that at least a quarter or more of the revenues they earn outside the UK come from the European Union—and for 18 percent, the figure rises to over 75 percent.
- 59 percent believed that leaving the European Union could make it more difficult to successfully promote British music and artists in Europe.
- 56 percent believed that withdrawing from the European Union could have negative consequences for fans.
What people, especially the younger generations, need today is to share something simple and positive together. Live music can do this. Brexit means the people in the UK don’t really want to share that with their neighbors anymore. The European Union is like a family. If you leave, symbolically you turn your back to these values, to these beliefs. After the tragedy at the Bataclan in Paris, the attacks in Brussels, now is a time when we should really stick together. Now that the UK left, it is a really wrong signal from that point of view.