Quarter of UK musicians lost all EU work since 2021
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- European Movement UK report found more than a quarter of British musicians stopped working in the EU entirely since 2021, with nearly half seeing reduced EU work, and 59% saying EU touring is no longer viable.
- Average tour earnings fell 45% post-2021, according to the report, which highlights a combination of ATA carnets costing more than £400 (plus security deposits up to 40% of equipment value) and cabotage rules restricting cross-border haulage.
- Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, said the findings reflected a wider crisis across the creative economy, noting the £8bn music sector supports 220,000 jobs and that barriers to mobility also affect film, TV and video professionals.
- UK creatives now face different visa systems in each of the EU's 27 member states, alongside work permit requirements and the Schengen 90-days-in-180 rule, which the report says makes extended touring and cross-border collaboration increasingly difficult to plan.
- UK Music noted a 2025 UK-EU "common understanding" committed both sides to supporting travel and cultural exchange, but Kiehl said "touring the EU remains financially unviable post-Brexit for many musicians and performers."
- Mig Schallache, owner of Bristol venue The Louisiana, said the shortage of EU artists touring the UK means "there aren't enough artists in the UK to fill diaries," a problem he traced to post-Brexit visa and cost barriers.
- The report cited the loss of Creative Europe funding as a major blow, noting the programme invested €111m in 376 UK organisations between 2014 and 2020 — a gap that has hit independent producers and SMEs hardest.
Why it matters: The UK music sector contributed £8bn in 2024 (nearly £5bn in exports) and performing arts added more than £11bn, yet a quarter of musicians have been fully priced out of EU work and 376 UK organisations have already lost €111m in Creative Europe funding. The 2025 UK-EU "common understanding" pledged to ease these barriers, but UK Music says touring remains financially unviable for most — meaning small and emerging artists are locked out of the cross-Channel circuit the sector once treated as routine.
