Over 200 British artists have joined together and called on the UK government for financial aid to assist with touring in EU countries following Brexit.

The Chemical Brothers, Kano, Kelly Lee Owens, and festivals including Dimensions, are all among the many acts and organisations coming together under the banner of #LetTheMusicMove initiative.

The campaign’s manifesto is calling on the UK government to “do more to support the future of the music industry, and mitigate the Brexit-related impacts of restrictions, costs and delays on European touring”.

A recent survey found that 58% of the UK public feel that the country’s government should be doing more to help those musicians struggling to tour across Europe, in what many are referring to as “the post-Brexit touring crisis”.

Let the Music Move is pushing for exemptions for touring artists, or renegotiation of the touring rules. Other solutions could include “new bilateral agreements with each country that will reduce the costs and red tape” plus a short-term “transitional support package” to help give financial assistance to artists currently encoring additional costs due to new legislation.

Under the Brexit deal, UK musicians have to now acquire a goods passport called a ‘carnet’ in order to tour across mainland Europe. Individual visas and permits are also required for different countries. Also, UK-registered vehicles are limited to only three stops on the continent before having to return to the British mainland. This amounts to various extra costs often totalling around £5,000 per individual country.

Back in March of 2021, Labour MP Harriet Harman unveiled a 10-point plan of proposed measures, which gained the support of organisations such as the Musicians’ Union and UK Music. If the proposal is accepted it could allow British musicians to tour Europe without visas, and this movement is adding pressure on the government to implement that proposal or something similar.

H/T: DJ Mag