Figures from the live music industry have hit back at the UK government for yet another ‘no-announcement’ of ‘spin and misinformation’, while claiming little to no progress is being made in resolving the Brexit touring fiasco.

• READ MORE: ‘It’s going to be devastating’ – here’s how Brexit will shake up UK artists on tour

Criticism continues after the government put the future of touring UK artists at risk when the Brexit deal reached with the EU failed to negotiate visa-free travel and work permits to the European scale for musicians and the team.

10 months later, issues remain over the new rules and paperwork, creating huge costs for future live music tours of the continent for musicians and the team – which could create a glass ceiling that prevents the rise and development of talent to be able to afford to do so.

The new Brexit rules have also resulted in a “massive” loss of jobs and taxable income for the EU, making touring “nearly impossible” for road crews. Cabotage rules currently mean that trucks coming from the UK are only allowed to make one stop in an EU state before having only seven days to make a maximum of two more before go back home.

Last August, the government “announced” that “short-term” visa-free and work permit-free travel would be allowed for musicians and performers in 19 European countries, while talks are underway with other countries. This prompted a huge backlash from the industry, which accused the government of ‘turning around and taking meaningless positions’ given that these rules were already in place before Brexit, while no real negotiation. had not been engaged to resolve the main problems.

There is now more anger following another announcement, with the government claiming “victory” over 20 EU states after adding Romania to the list.

“DCMS promised to clear everything up after all of the spin from last time around, and now they’ve just decided to come out with some more spin,” said Ian Smith of the #CarryOnTouring and ukeartswork campaign. NME. “This time all they did was increase it from 19 to 20 countries after I told them Romania had an allocation.

“This does not take into account at all that nothing has been done proactively in terms of creating a dialogue for bilateral agreements. They simply repeated what is true for all third country nationals around the world. It is not specific to British or British creations. These are the rules that have applied for years to all third country nationals. Confusion remains over the rules for road crews. They haven’t lifted a finger on anything in this so-called “announcement”.

Calling on the government to “make a real commitment” to creating meaningful solutions for creatives and support staff, Smith accused them of presenting only partial truths and leaving artists and their staff in a confusing and dangerous situation.

“What the government fails to mention when it talks about ‘visa-free tours’ is that in some countries, like the Czech Republic, you are only allowed to work for free for seven days a year. It’s 14 days in Sweden, 30 days in Poland, six out of 13 weeks in the Benelux ”, he said.

“They also do not mention that in Belgium there are three different authorities, each granting different work permit allowances. They do not mention that in Germany and France they are up to 90 days a year, they do not mention that in all countries where there are visits without visa and without a permit, you must report to the local authority. if you work there.

Smith continued, “By excluding this information, they are using the old excuse of ‘Well, we’re not here to give information to other governments.’ They put people at risk of going abroad and being fined. In France, all customs offenses are criminal and not civil offenses. The HMRC and the government are giving partial information and being diplomatic with the truth about what is happening on the ground. “

Ultimately, Smith said nothing about the Brexit touring situation has changed since the industry was landed with a “no deal” in January, and the government continues to only relay what figures from the live music scene have told them from the start. He argued that more bilateral talks, better information and a transition fund were needed to help artists and their team touring Europe, as well as to help cover the costs of transport and moving goods between countries. .

“The only advantage is that it gives us all the chance to work on what we can’t do,” Smith added. “The government has managed to do something that has never been done before – which is to succeed in bringing together managers, labels, artists, teams and people from all over our industry to really talk to each other.

“This has never really happened before. In this sense, we are all united and totally committed to finding solutions to the terrible situation in which we all find ourselves.

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This summer saw the launch of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign, with Wolf Alice, IDLES, Poppy Ajudha and Radiohead among 200 artists calling on the UK government to take urgent action to resolve the ‘No Deal’ that has landed on UK music. The campaign was led by the Featured Artists Coalition, whose CEO David Martin said NME that the government’s latest publication was “Another Exercise Is Obfuscation”.

“After admitting that the previous announcement regarding tours in the EU was misleading, it is now clear that a sustained campaign is underway to get the message that is being distributed to the music industry,” said Martin. “It won’t work.

“Government time would be better spent working on solutions to help us, rather than perpetuating the problems we continue to face by publishing incomplete and inaccurate information. “

One artist who has been left angry and bewildered by the government’s actions is Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis, who said NME: “I just don’t understand what they played.

“I think our government should have done a lot more to try to protect and nurture the future of music and culture in the UK,” he said. “It’s one of the most important facets of Britain, it’s our tradition in the arts. Whether you’re in a punk band, a theater troupe, or a ballet, we’ve all been screwed.

“It just shows the contempt the Conservatives have for the arts. Nothing matters to them except tax cuts and corruption – which in the UK strangely is called ‘cronyism’. Let’s just call it what it is – it’s rampant and widespread corruption. I feel pretty livid about the situation.

Regarding the previous announcement regarding visa-free tours, Yannis said: “There are a lot of bites in this queue and they just issued a press release. It is still very problematic. If you are a young group that is just starting out and trying to find its way, who has the capacity to manage this logistically or financially? It’s a poisoned chalice, and they presented it as a glass of champagne.

He added: “I hope there is still work to be done to improve the situation and that is not the raw truth forever, but that still does not change how incompetent and indifferent our own politicians have been. . “

Responding to the latest backlash to their announcement, a government spokesperson for DCMS admitted that “the specific requirements of many member states are not always clearly identifiable” and that they are trying to add additional information and clarify their website as they “continue to engage extensively with the industry to help them understand the rules and develop their own directions.”

“We want our creative professionals to travel abroad easily,” said a government spokesperson. NME. “We have been working at a steady pace and talking to every EU member state about the importance of touring, and 20 EU member states have confirmed that they offer visa-free and work permit-free itineraries for performers or performers and other creative professionals. This includes most of the biggest touring markets including France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

“We are now working with the remaining countries to encourage them to align with the generous UK provisions, which make it easy for creative professionals to travel here. “

Earlier this month, a number of music industry figures spoke to NME on how the new visa rules, along with prohibitive costs and administrative rules, meant that many British artists could no longer afford to tour in Spain, cutting off one of the biggest markets for British talent.

Emerging post-punk bands Squid and Black Country, New Road are among those who have recently pulled out of Spanish shows “with no hint of rescheduling their respective tours” – as the Primavera Sound promoters noted.

Discussions continue for tour visa arrangements with Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus.

Amid months of inaction, the government has often been accused of treating the £ 6bn music industry as an ‘afterthought’ in Brexit negotiations, compared to the fishing industry of £ 1.2 billion.

A recent poll found a majority of UK voters wanted the government to do more to resolve the post-Brexit touring fiasco for musicians and crew, after more than 280,000 people signed a petition calling for the establishment visa-free tours in the EU for artists and crew.