UK Music continues to work with industry colleagues, the Governments of both the EU and the UK, and parliamentarians in the EU and UK to resolve the issues impacting touring in Europe following the UK’s departure from the European Union.
Europe is a key market for the UK. EU member states are a vital market for the UKs £4.8 billion music exports. This is particularly the case with live music, with the European Commission admitting in 2019 that UK acts “dominated the European panorama” (here).
Europe is also especially important for emerging artists, for whom touring it has now become financially unviable or too complex.
According to a 2023 UK Music survey, 82% of musicians surveyed said their earnings had decreased because of Brexit, while 43% said touring the EU was no longer viable. PRS for Music data also shows a 27% decline between 2019 and 2023 in live performance claims for EU festivals and events with capacities under 5,000.
The impact extends beyond performers and crew. Local venues, festivals, audiences, technical suppliers, haulage operators, and wider cultural economies in both the UK and EU are all affected. Research from Best for Britain has also shown that the number of British artists booked for EU festivals has fallen by approximately one third compared with pre-Brexit levels.
UK Music is co-convenor of the Cultural Exchange Coalition (CEC), alongside PEARLE* which brings together organisations across the UK and EU to promote the shared benefits of cross-border cultural collaboration.
What’s The Issue?
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) focused primarily on goods rather than services and did not adequately address the realities of cultural touring. As a result, touring artists and cultural organisations now face a complex patchwork of rules across EU member states.
While the Government has provided clarification on some areas, significant barriers remain around:
- Visa and work permit arrangements
- The 90 days in 180 Schengen rule
- Cabotage restrictions
- ATA carnets
- CITES and Musical Instrument Certificates
- Merchandise and customs rules
- A1 forms and social security administration
- Loss of access to Creative Europe funding and collaboration programmes
Short-Term Touring and Visa Waivers
Artists and crew are currently required to navigate multiple immigration systems when touring Europe. Although many EU member states allow some forms of short-term touring without work permits or visas, arrangements differ significantly between countries and are often limited, unclear, or subject to additional conditions.
We are calling for a bespoke UK-EU Visa Waiver Agreement (VWA) for cultural touring. Such an agreement would allow performing artists and associated crew to undertake short-term work on an ad hoc basis for up to 90 days in a 180-day period without requiring separate work permits or visas in individual countries.
A visa waiver agreement would harmonise the fragmented system currently faced by artists and reduce significant administrative burdens. Legal advice received by the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) notes that such an agreement could be negotiated without reopening the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
There is precedent for this approach. Since 2009, the EU has entered into numerous visa waiver agreements and joint declarations with third countries, many of which include exemptions for artists and performers.
The proposal has broad support across the creative industries, with more than 300 organisations backing calls for a touring visa waiver arrangement.
90/180 Rule
The Schengen 90 days in 180 rule presents significant challenges for musicians, orchestras, theatre companies, technical crew, and touring professionals.
Many touring workers move between multiple productions or undertake extended rehearsals and tours across Europe. The current rules force individuals to carefully monitor their time in the Schengen area, and in some cases have prevented artists and crew from undertaking further work or even taking personal holidays.
Large productions have occasionally managed these restrictions through expensive workarounds that include flying crew in and out of EU locations to minimise days, and having employing additional crews when the original crews exceed their 90 day limit. Such solutions are environmentally damaging and financially impossible for most artists and touring companies.
UK Music is therefore calling for the creation of a specific longer-term touring visa allowing cultural workers to remain in the Schengen area for extended touring engagements beyond the standard 90 days.
The European Commission itself acknowledged in a 2014 proposal that the current Schengen rules are insufficient for touring artists and estimated that reforms could generate up to €500 million in economic gains.
ATA Carnets
Post-Brexit touring now frequently requires ATA carnets for transporting instruments, staging equipment, and other professional goods into the EU.
Carnets are costly, bureaucratic, and time consuming. Fees can exceed £400 before security deposits are added, while larger productions such as orchestras and theatre companies may face costs running into several thousand pounds.
The process itself is complex, requiring detailed inventories including serial numbers for equipment and instruments. Carnets must also be stamped at designated customs points, increasing the risk of delays.
Touring artists have reported needing to build additional travel days into schedules purely to accommodate customs checks, increasing accommodation, staffing, and transport costs.
UK Music and partner organisations are calling for a cultural exemption from ATA carnet requirements between the UK and EU for legitimate touring activity.
In the immediate term, the Government should work with Chambers of Commerce to reduce carnet costs and streamline the application process. Carnet costs in the UK are currently substantially higher than in many EU countries.
The new Digital Carnets being implemented in the EU and UK have not resulted in any reduction in coses, and indeed have caused additional issues of duplicate carnets needing to be purchased in certain circumstances.
CITES
Certain musical instruments contain materials covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), including rosewood and ivory.
These instruments now require Musical Instrument Certificates (MICs) in addition to carnets when touring the EU.
Current arrangements create major practical difficulties. Musicians travelling via Eurostar through St Pancras face particular challenges because St Pancras is not currently a designated CITES entry point.
The Government recently consulted on introducing fees for Musical Instrument Certificates, and has ruled out any fee increases in the short term.
The sector is calling for:
- St Pancras to become a designated CITES port
- Faster processing times for Musical Instrument Certificates
- Extension of certificate validity periods from three years to five or seven years
- Musical Instrument Certificates to remain free of charge
Cabotage
Cabotage rules introduced after Brexit now restrict UK-registered haulage operators to a limited number of stops within the EU.
These restrictions are making touring increasingly impractical for UK-based haulage providers and specialist touring companies.
Many large European tours are now choosing to base operations within the EU rather than the UK, threatening the long-term viability of the UK’s specialist event haulage sector.
Orchestras and touring companies operating their own customised vehicles face especially severe challenges, with some organisations reportedly paying up to £20,000 to hire EU-based alternatives.
The sector is calling for:
- A cultural exemption from cabotage restrictions
- Recognition of “own account” operators transporting instruments and production equipment
- Reform of Article 460 of the TCA to align with wider European transport exemptions for cultural touring
Merchandise and Customs Rules
For many smaller and emerging artists, merchandise sales determine whether a tour is financially viable. Post-Brexit customs arrangements have introduced significant administrative and financial barriers to selling merchandise in the EU.
The sector is seeking:
- A UK-EU agreement simplifying customs and VAT requirements for touring merchandise
- Exploration of UK participation in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention to simplify Rules of Origin requirements
Creative Europe
The sector is urging the Government to rejoin Creative Europe, the EU’s flagship programme supporting cultural and creative collaboration.
Before leaving the programme in 2021, UK organisations benefited significantly from Creative Europe funding, partnerships, skills programmes, and market access opportunities.
Between 2014 and 2019, UK organisations participated in 609 Creative Europe-supported projects receiving approximately €68 million directly, while leveraging an estimated €140 million in additional match funding.
A1 Forms
A1 forms establish that touring workers remain subject to UK National Insurance contributions rather than paying contributions in EU member states.
Backlogs and delays in processing A1 forms can be a major issue, preventing some artists and crew from taking up contracts in Europe. Recent resourcing increases to HMRC have mainly addressed these issues, however the current level of processing times must be maintained.
The Government should ensure that HMRC is properly resourced to process A1 forms efficiently and consistently.
What can be done to fix it?
Transitional Support Package
UK Music continues to call for a Transitional Support Package to help artists, crew, and businesses manage the additional costs created by post-Brexit touring arrangements while longer-term solutions are negotiated.
Multilateral Agreements
Since 2021, the sector has called for a UK-EU Cultural Touring Agreement covering visas, cabotage, carnets, CITES, and customs arrangements.
The Government should prioritise:
- A UK-EU Visa Waiver Agreement for short-term touring
- A longer-term touring visa to address the 90/180 Schengen rule
- Cultural exemptions for ATA Carnets and cabotage
- Simplified arrangements for merchandise, VAT, and customs
- Participation in Creative Europe
In the immediate term, the Government should work with Chambers of Commerce to reduce carnet costs and bureaucracy.
EU Alignment Bill
The proposed EU Alignment Bill in this year’s King’s Speech presents an opportunity to reduce touring barriers by addressing carnet bureaucracy, mobility restrictions, and cabotage issues. The government should reconsider it’s “red lines” around Customs Union and Single Market in order to achieve the best possible deal for the UK. The EU alignment bill should also make provision for structured talks between the EU and UK to discuss touring issues as a part of the TCA review.
EU Visa Strategy
The EU Commission recently published an EU Visa Strategy which includes a commitment to “explore new rules for extended short stays for selected categories of third-country professionals, such as touring artists”.
What’s happening to change it?
Cultural Exchange Coalition (CEC)
The CEC was established in December 2025 following the UK–EU Summit and the “Common Understanding” commitment on cultural exchange. The coalition brings together over 150 organisations from across the UK and EU creative sectors to promote cross-border collaboration and campaign for solutions to post-Brexit touring barriers. UK Music acts as co-convenor and secretariat for this group and played a key role in organising the inaugural events at the European Parliament and UK Ambassador’s Residence in Brussels in March 2026.
You can read more about the CEC here.
Industry and Government Engagement
The industry have regular meetings with DCMS officials and government ministers on the issue, and secured ministerial engagement at the CEC events in March 26.
APPG on Music
In 2025 the APPG on Music held a joint event on EU touring alongside the Freight and Logistics APPG.
In July 2022, the APPG on Music, supported by UK Music, published the Let the Music Move – A New Deal for Touring report, calling for a comprehensive UK-EU Cultural Touring Agreement.
The wider Let the Music Move campaign has since received support from more than 200 artists, including New Order, Little Mix, and Radiohead.
In 2021, the APPG on Music launched an inquiry into EU touring under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.