Joe GallopMembers of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music will host the next stage of the inquiry into the barriers facing UK artists touring the EU by taking evidence from promoter Harvey Goldsmith CBE.
Goldsmith, who has produced Live Aid and worked with the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Who and Bruce Springsteen, will join a panel including the Association of British Orchestras chief executive Mark Pemberton OBE, LIVE Touring Group chair Craig Stanley, as well as PEARLE* – Live Performance Europe director Anita Debaere and head of public affairs Silke Lalvani.
On 7 February the panel will address the added costs and red tape that the music industry faces when working and touring in the EU, as well as the threat this poses to the industry’s talent pipeline.
The MPs have already written to prime minister Boris Johnson about the problems facing artists and crews touring Europe. Elton John described the situation as a “looming catastrophe”.
The first evidence session on 22 November heard from Everything Everything’s Jeremy Pritchard, manager Paul Crockford, and Fiona McDonnell, head of artistic planning at the Academy of Ancient Music. They raised the challenges that musicians and music workers are facing with visas, carnets and other bureaucratic barriers to working in EU member states.
The MPs intend to publish the full report later this year. The upcoming session can be viewed live by registering here.