04.08.2025: UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl has highlighted the huge challenges that continue to blight the UK music ecosystem when touring the EU post-Brexit.
According to The Independent, new figures reveal that the number of British acts performing at European festivals has plummeted by a quarter since Brexit due to escalating costs and additional red tape.
And it’s not just the performers who have been feeling the pinch. Tour managers, sound and lighting engineers, production crew – all have been significantly impacted by the costly barriers that now blight EU-UK touring.
Figureheads from across the music industry ecosystem have consistently lobbied Government to find a solution that eases the process for all concerned. And in May of this year, Musicians and industry leaders from the UK and Europe joined forces to demand urgent action to remove the barriers to touring across the EU.
Backed by thousands of people working across the UK and EU music industries, an open letter to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was organised by the Musicians’ Union, the Association of British Orchestras, LIVE, Pearle*, the Independent Society of Musicians and UK Music.
UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl told The Independent: “The rising costs and extra red tape involved in touring the EU post-Brexit is a huge challenge for the whole UK music eco-system, ranging from musicians and artists to technicians, engineers and crew.”
At the 2025 Great Escape Festival in Brighton, UK Music led a campaign urging political leaders to sweep away barriers to touring the EU.
Industry leaders and stars from across the music world gathered at the festival to deliver the message via a giant seaside postcard about the urgent need to remove the obstacles facing UK acts touring the EU and EU acts touring the UK. You can read more about the campaign here.