31 March 2026

As Brexit continues to have devastating impact on UK artists, government and EU pledge “full commitment” to solving touring crisis

After a 75 per cent drop in UK artists playing in Europe and issues only “worsening”, the government has been told to urgently “get a grip” of…

— NME (@NME) March 31, 2026

NME reports: “A report by the Musicians’ Union in 2024 found that
75 per cent of UK artists had seen a decline in bookings in the EU
since Brexit, with 79 per cent unable to make up for the loss of work
elsewhere and the majority claiming that touring in Europe was simply
“no longer financially viable”.

Alongside UK artists being booked for European
festivals falling by nearly a third, the body argued:

“Reduced touring opportunities not only directly affect artists and crew unable to tour, but also songwriters who see reduced royalties where their works are no longer being performed by UK artists at concerts and festivals in EU countries.”

This comes with the perfect storm of increased touring costs, more red tape and admin around carnets and crossing borders, less chances to be heard, massive dips in income, and a huge impact on mental health.”

Now, Culture Minister Ian Murphy has promised the “full commitment”
of the UK government to remove the barriers to touring the EU and UK.

He said: “There’s a full commitment from our side in terms of the UK government to fulfil the commitment in the EU and UK Summit to fulfil the aspirations of the Cultural Compass and to make sure we can have all our artists – whether it be UK artists in Europe or European artists in the UK – as seamless as possible.”