Scene at Copenhagen Airport
With the specter of Brexit looming over the UK, The Musicians Union is calling for a European Union touring visa for musicians in a post-Brexit world.
The British music industry is bracing for a serious post-Brexit blow. Barring a lucky reversal, the only question is how bad the post-Brexit environment will be — and what can be done to mitigate it.
Just recently, the UK-based Musicians’ Union has created a new petition asking fans, musicians, and anyone with an interest in music to show their support for a European touring visa to make traveling easier.
The union says that the EU touring visa must be affordable, allow multi-entry, be light on administrative needs, and cover all countries in the EU.
“Placing costly and resource heavy barriers [on European travel] could have a severe impact on working and aspiring musicians – as well as the broader UK music industry,” the group warned.
Essentially, the Musicians’ Union is asking the government to make international tours less nightmarish for UK musicians. Most musicians already have experience with the visa application process and how complicated it can be.
The Union plans on presenting the proposal for a touring visa to Labour and Conservative Party conferences in the next few weeks.
Members of the organization are being encouraged to contact their representatives to discuss the impact that Brexit will have on the industry.
It’s no secret that the MU has been anti-Brexit from the time the idea was presented, as it could have a significant impact on how freely UK artists can travel between countries. MU General secretary Horace Trubridge says the organization has been working from the beginning to ensure its members have freedom of movement through a visa system.
“We are supporting the People’s Vote campaign now because we think our members and other workers should have their say on the final Brexit deal,” Trubridge stated. “Given this started with consulting the population when nobody understood the likely fallout, it seems perfectly reasonable to expect people to get a say on the terms of it”.