The continuing impact of Brexit on touring musicians

In a year when freelance musicians have been fighting for survival following the decimation of the live performance industry during Covid-19, the last thing they needed was the ongoing disruption to their livelihoods brought about by the government’s handling of Brexit.

In March, in collaboration with the Musicians’ Union (MU), we published a report featuring personal testimonies from classical music professionals who are facing economic disaster as a result of Brexit. The report includes 17 named case studies and eight anonymous stories, each of which paint a heart-breaking picture of how the new administrative and financial burdens are preventing UK musicians from touring to Europe, as the region begins to reopen after coronavirus.

Cellist Maxim Calver, a finalist in BBC Young Musician 2018, said: ‘It is devastating to have to give up the opportunities to make music and make contacts with our colleagues in Europe, especially at the start of my career.’

On the prospect of losing long-standing work, violinist Catherine Manson said: ‘I am professionally paralysed by Brexit and have no idea how I can continue my career. I desperately need some resolution to this problem.’

Contemplating how this crisis would have affected him at the beginning of his career, conductor Simon Halsey CBE said: ‘Had this happened 20 years ago, I’d never have been risked as an unknown in all these countries and I wouldn’t have got to the Berliner Philharmoniker for 15 years.’

You can read more of these personal testimonies and the full report at ism.org/brexit-for-musicians

The ISM has been holding high-level meetings with politicians and civil servants on this issue and fighting to make sure UK musicians can continue to represent our exceptional industry across Europe. Together with the MU, we are calling on the government to:

• Negotiate a bespoke Visa Waiver Agreement with the EU for the creative sector, covering all creative professionals
• Negotiate bilateral agreements with key individual EU Member States that do not currently offer cultural exemptions for work permits, or with key states which are the most important financially for creative workers
• Provide an emergency funding package to compensate for additional costs they now face undertaking work in Europe
• Reduce the adverse impact of the new road haulage and cross-trade rules that has made it impossible for touring companies to facilitate pan-European tours

Europe is an integral market for the UK’s touring musicians, who depend on the ability to travel quickly, easily and cheaply across borders. Because of the absence of provisions for the creative industries in the Brexit trade deal, these musicians must now navigate the different visa and work permit requirements for each country they enter, sometimes incurring substantial new costs to do so. The ISM’s guide to visa and work permit requirements for Europe can help you navigate this process. It is the most comprehensive guide available for musicians, and is updated regularly to show the latest developments in each nation. Access the guide for free at ism.org/working-in-europe

If you are a music professional who has been affected by Brexit, we would like to hear from you. Your personal experiences can help to strengthen our campaigning and persuade decision-makers. You can email us at externalaffairs@ism.org and write to your MP using our template letter at ism.org/brexit-template

The ISM has been working to protect the rights of musicians and champion music since it was founded in 1882. To find out more about our work, and discover the benefits of becoming an ISM member, visit ism.org

Other campaigning work coordinated by the ISM includes the letter published last week to Boris Johnson, signed by more than 300 cultural organisations, calling for him to deliver on his commitment to fix Brexit.