‘Numbers don’t lie’ - You’ve probably heard that one before, but it’s only half of the true idiom. ‘Numbers don’t lie, but they also don’t tell the full story’. When it comes to British touring musicians this is certainly the case.
Best for Britain’s new and updated analysis suggests that this is the first summer since we left the EU, and Covid restrictions were lifted, that the number of British musicians playing European festivals has surpassed pre-Brexit numbers. And by a sizeable 18% too. This is a significant improvement on 2022 where numbers had slumped by 38% compared to the years 2017-2019. And similarly 2023, where numbers had improved slightly, but were still down by 23% overall on pre-Brexit numbers.
So what does this mean? Have the problems facing the music industry gone away? Not exactly.
Despite apparent recovery, it’s clear from talking to a range of industry insiders that serious problems persist including, but not limited to, increased costs, paperwork and in making the transportation of equipment and merchandise more complex. The bounce back in numbers is not a sign that problems have gone away, but rather that British acts, their supporting ecosystems, and festival organisers have simply become better at navigating the challenges thrown up by Brexit.
To find out more we put the feelers out, getting in touch with a range of people, and ultimately sitting down to interview six; a group which included musicians, music managers, and booking agents. Five said that admin and paperwork, as well as costs, had increased as a result of Brexit. While four out of six said that they themselves or the artists they managed were missing out on last minute opportunities due to Brexit barriers.
Four out of six said that they themselves or the artists they managed were missing out on last minute opportunities
Out of those that work with bands, who have to carry a lot of equipment, all said that Brexit had made the movement of equipment and merchandise far more difficult. It seems this is, at least in part, due to a general lack of knowledge and understanding of the processes in place amongst border and customs staff. Bradley Kulistic, music manager at Singing Light Music estimated that his organisation has spent an additional 24 hours across three European tours filling out forms, and explaining to border staff what is the correct process.
While all artists continue to face problems, difficulties are felt much more acutely by emerging artists, with 5 out of 6 of those that Best for Britain interviewed making this clear. Unlike more established artists, it is far more difficult for smaller artists to absorb increased costs. For many, like the Meffs, a punk band from Essex, this has meant missing out on offers to play in the EU. As band member Lily Hopkins explained, “As a smaller band we have to consider every single show that we take if it's outside the UK. You have to make a choice, and sometimes that means saying we can’t play that show because it’s not financially viable. We can’t go out and lose money on a show, as much as we’d love to do it.”
While all artists continue to face problems, difficulties are felt much more acutely by emerging artists
It is also made harder by the lack of assistance in dealing with new challenges, with Lily going on to say that “At the start we nearly didn't get let out the UK because we went through the wrong process and we didn’t get something stamped. There was just this assumption that we should know, and obviously we didn’t as we had never done it before."
For Willem Lord, who manages a range of up-and-coming artists like artyn, GEE LEE and Jack Marlow, his issues start earlier at the stage of booking. He has found that smaller European festivals, in particular, would rather not book artists from the UK to avoid the paperwork and admin, as well as the costs associated with that process. This has a huge impact on emerging artists like those he manages, as smaller festivals are essential for helping them to build up to the bigger European festivals.
For many British artists the problems are just too substantial and they are forced to give up touring Europe altogether. The consequences of this are laid bare by the owner of a boutique booking agency, who explained “with so many barriers in place preventing UK artists touring the EU, many more are choosing to stay and tour the UK. This has created a bottleneck with too many artists touring and too many shows, which means artists can’t sell enough tickets.”
For many British artists the problems are just too substantial and they are forced to give up touring Europe altogether
The Meffs spoke to this point saying, “We know that if we go to Hamburg for example, we can sell out a 280 cap before the show. But we could go to Birmingham and we will have five other bands playing at different venues around the city, and you’re constantly competing. And it shouldn’t be like this, you shouldn’t be competing against other acts to get gigs and be seen. It's a horrible feeling and I think that’s why bands don’t stay together, because that’s not a way you can sustain a band."
The new Labour Government have specifically stated that they “will help out touring artists” in their Manifesto. It is not yet clear how and when this will be achieved, but given they have only been in Government for just over a month, we can’t blame them for that just yet. But to give them the best chance of succeeding, we have drawn up a plan. And a good one too, including 114 recommendations informed by more than 80 hrs of live testimony featuring 234 witnesses and written evidence from more than 200 organisations. A number of which are specifically designed to alleviate the problems outlined above. They include the negotiation of a Visa Waiver Agreement with the EU for those working in the cultural sector on a temporary basis, and a review of cabotage arrangements as outlined in the TCA to help musicians touring with equipment.
The new Labour Government have specifically stated that they “will help out touring artists” in their Manifesto
As our CEO Naomi Smith explains, “Ours is a practical solution for how the Government can make good on their promise to assist UK touring artists, and in doing so help the next generation of British musicians thrive.”
If you’re not yet convinced of the impact touring can have, remember that while the Beatles were born in Liverpool, they were made in Hamburg; a city that gave them the chance to hone their song and stagecraft with a nightly residency. Britain has a long, proud, and world-renowned, musical tradition, and we should be doing everything within our power to help the next generation of British musical talent. If our fledgling musicians can’t travel, can’t reach new audiences, can’t collaborate with international artists or experience different musical cultures, we could miss out on the next Beatles or maybe even something bigger.
Martha Harrison / Press Manager