Post-Brexit red tape pricing UK musicians out of Europe, report warns

The report, titled Creating Culture Together: A Practical Reset for UK-EU Creative Cooperation and published by European Movement UK, warns that the absence of a dedicated creative framework in the original Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has left the sector fractured. According to data within the report, nearly half of UK musicians report a reduction in EU work since 2021, while more than a quarter have lost European work entirely. Furthermore, average tour earnings have plummeted by 45 per cent, and 59 per cent of musicians state that touring the continent is no longer viable.

The impact is felt heavily at the grassroots level. Mig Shillace, owner of the iconic Bristol venue The Louisiana, notes that performances by EU-based acts in the UK have also reduced dramatically over the last five years.

'Because of Brexit we're getting less artists from Europe,' Shillace says. 'There aren't enough artists in the UK to fill diaries, so you need the influx to fill your books. Pre-Brexit it was so much easier for bands to go to Europe and tour. Now it's just not feasible'.

The structural barriers facing artists

The report outlines several key post-Brexit obstacles that have combined to stifle cross-border collaboration: - Mobility restrictions and visas: UK professionals are currently bound by Schengen rules limiting stays to 90 days in any 180-day period, alongside a patchwork of varying visa and work permit regulations across individual EU member states. - Customs and ATA carnets: For non-portable instruments and equipment, artists must secure an ATA carnet. These 'passports for goods' cost upwards of £400 per carnet, alongside security deposits that can reach 40 per cent of the equipment's value. For large ensembles like orchestras, this adds £2,000 to £5,000 in overheads per tour. - Transport and cabotage limits: Current haulage rules restrict UK vehicles to just two additional stops within the EU after entry, preventing affordable multi-venue or multi-country touring schedules. This has heavily affected organizations using specialized 'own-account' trucks to safely transport fragile instruments. - Merchandise complications: Due to complex border declarations and country-specific VAT regulations, a Musicians' Union survey cited in the report found that 68 per cent of artists have stopped taking merchandise on EU tours completely, wiping out a vital source of grassroots profit.

The economic footprint at stake

The cultural and creative industries represent a significant portion of the domestic economy, making the ongoing friction a matter of major national interest: - £145.8 billion was contributed in Gross Value Added (GVA) by the creative industries to the UK economy in 2024, representing roughly 5.5 per cent of the total economy. - 2.4 million jobs are supported across these sectors, making up approximately 7 per cent of the entire UK workforce. - £8 billion was generated by the UK music sector alone in 2024, which includes international export values worth nearly £5 billion.

'Touring the EU remains financially unviable post-Brexit for many musicians and performers, hindering our efforts to grow our respective creative sectors,' says Tom Kiehl, Chief Executive of UK Music, in the report's foreword. 'We need to sweep away these barriers and build on the work that is already under way'.

A 'twin-track' proposal for reform

While European Movement UK maintains that re-entering the EU single market remains the ultimate comprehensive solution, the report advocates for an immediate, practical 'twin-track' approach that operates within the government's current political red lines.

Track one: Negotiations with the EU

The report urges the government to utilize the momentum of the UK-EU reset to negotiate structural easements with Brussels. Key targets include securing a reciprocal short-term mobility and work framework for cultural professionals, obtaining a sector-specific exemption from cabotage rules for touring equipment, and rejoining Creative Europe – the EU's flagship cultural funding programme – ahead of its transition to the successor programme, AgoraEU.

Track two: Unilateral domestic action

Crucially, the report highlights barriers the UK can dismantle immediately on its own soil without the need for prolonged EU negotiations. These include directly subsidizing or lowering the cost of ATA carnets issued in the UK, designating London's St Pancras International as an official CITES port so musicians traveling with instruments containing rare materials can use the Eurostar, and clearing the administrative backlog at HMRC to meet the 15-day service target for issuing A1 National Insurance certificates.