Aalok, 28, is a young British musician from London who plays the theremin. On Saturday, 14September, Aalok will be joining other musicians to play outside the Royal Albert Hall to the BBC proms concertgoers attending the Last Night of the Proms to raise awareness of EU touring musicians.
Red tape
Aalok plays his theremin in gigs across the UK, but if he wants to play his instrument on the continent, here’s some of the red tape he will need to sort out:
- Obtain a carnet (paperwork for transporting instruments and equipment).
- Carefully plan his tour in the Schengen area to not exceed 90 days in any 180 days.
- Sort out individual work permits and visa requirements for all the 27 EU countries where he tours.
- Arrange additional cabotage costs and paperwork for vehicles larger than a splitter van.
- Obtain the correct CITIES certification if his instrument is of a rare wood or ivory
- Organise the correct documentation and relevant VAT registrations if he intends to sell merchandise on tour to generate additional income.
- Notify local authorities in each EU country where he tours of his presence and intention to perform a fee-paying engagement.
No wonder 59%% of UK musicians believe touring the European Union is no longer financially viable according to a recent Musicians’ Union survey. Internationally acclaimed baritone Simon Wallfisch remarked, “It is devastating to see how young British musicians today will never experience the world-is-your-oyster mentality I felt as a young musician finding my feet in the mid-2000s.”
Labour is listening
The Labour government is focused on growth and pledged to solve this impasse in their manifesto. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have been in dialogue with EU partners about touring artists and are engaged with the Musicians’ Union. David Webster, MU Head of International, says:
“Thankfully, we now have a government who are listening to our concerns and have pledged to take our issues to the EU to try to reach an understanding for touring musicians and their crews.”
A recent FT article, however, flags problems on the EU side. Internal EU briefing documents reveal that the EU is “not prepared to consider” special concessions for UK touring musicians. Dave Webster optimistically interprets this as “the start of a process” to negotiate a solution.
Political impasse
Meanwhile, UK performers such as Aalok are caught in the middle of this political impasse and are part of the grim statistic of musicians who simply cannot afford to make waves on the continent.
“Music evolves with culture, it’s always in flux,” says Aalok. “This can only happen when musicians can cross borders and have musical conversations.”
You can hear Aalok play his theremin to concertgoers attending the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday 14 from 3pm on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall. It is part of a friendly campaign organised by Thank EU for the Music to raise awareness of UK musicians touring across the EU. Concertgoers will be asked to hold up EU flags during the second half of the Prom to show solidarity with struggling musicians.
This article is based on a media release from Thank EU for the Music
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