Over 100 U.K. musicians have signed an open letter criticizing the Brexit deal, which they argue imposes new regulations, tariffs and visa requirements that make it extremely difficult for artists to tour and make a living.
Pop music icons like Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and Judith Weir, master of the Queen’s music, were among the signatories, as were electronic artists Bicep, Ross From Friends, Jayda G, and Hot Chip. “Musicians, dancers, actors and their support staff have been shamefully failed” by the government, the letter states.
The Brexit agreement does not allow visa-free tours of U.K. artists to countries of the European Union, and vice-versa, making it much more complicated for those artists to tour countries as they had pre-Brexit. With those measures in place, the cost of touring and attaining the proper licensure has skyrocketed, making it unfeasible for many of the artists from the U.K. to tour Europe, and for those seeking to make tour stops in the UK from EU nations. “For the sake of British fans wanting to see European performers in the U.K. and British venues wishing to host them, the deal should be reciprocal,” the letter continues.
The U.K. government has denied claims that an agreement for visa-free tours was rejected. Culture minister Caroline Dinenage did indeed decline further negotiations on a petition to secure the deal on January 19th, claiming its proposals were “simply not compatible with our manifesto commitment to taking back control of our borders.”
Read the open letter in full via The Times.
