Skip to main content

Home Music Music News

Help Musicians announce new scheme to help touring bands affected by Brexit

£250,000 will be handed out, with artists able to claim up to £5,000 each

By Will Richards

A live gig at the Razzmatazz in Barcelona
A live gig at the Razzmatazz in Barcelona. (Photo: Wiki Commons)

Help Musicians have today (March 29) detailed a new scheme aimed at helping touring bands and artists affected by Brexit.

The scheme will see the charity handing out £250,000 in support for touring musicians, with bands and artists able to claim up to £5,000 each.

The funds are being handed out to cover touring expenses and various fees, new administration and visa fees that are now required post-Brexit, and other touring-related outgoings. Free advice from Viva La Visa will also be available, for advice and information on visas, work permits and more for European touring.

“Through this support, the charity aims to help musicians re-build their careers post-restrictions and provide practical advice to musicians wishing to tour,” a statement said of the idea behind the new scheme.

“The service will help them better understand the complex requirements from working/traveling abroad, and mitigate against the financial risks now associated with touring, especially in Europe. Calls can cover the likes of visas, work permits, carnets, customs regulations, rules relating to movement and more.”

Get full details of Help Musicians’ new scheme here.

Discussing the funding scheme, Help Musicians CEO James Ainscough said: “It is vital that musicians start touring again, at home and abroad, to get back to live performance, grow their fanbase and earn much-needed income. Tours are costly and risky, so our £250k will support musicians who are ready to take the plunge and drive their careers forward.

“In addition, musicians now need extra support to arrange international tours because post-Brexit there is much complexity which can lead to career-ending consequences if the admin is not done right. Widening access to Viva La Visa’s service empowers musicians to make well-informed choices which should reduce risk, improve decision-making and increase confidence to tour internationally.”

Last year, leading music industry organisations wrote an open letter to the government criticising “misleading” post-Brexit touring claims.

In August the government announced that visa-free short-term touring would be allowed in 19 European Union member states, but now industry chiefs have claimed that the meaning was misleading.