Brexit could stop musicians touring Europe
Musicians claim the Brexit trade deal will stop them making a living
Musicians across the UK have serious concerns the Brexit trade deal will prevent them touring Europe now we are out of the EU.
The current deal means people now need to pay for a visa if they want to enter the European Union for more than 90 days.
Work permits will be needed for each individual member state and there are also restrictions and charges around travelling with kit, including a limit on how many stops trucks can make.
As such many bands fear touring our closest neighbours may become a near impossibility.
A petition calling on the government to renegotiate the rules has been signed nearly 300,000 times at time of writing.
AJ Dean-Revington from Bristol is part of the band The Wandering Hearts.
"It's obviously a disaster and another one just to chuck on the pile really," he says.
"Touring is a lifeblood and since coronavirus has been going on, that's been one arm of our profession that hasn't been able to take place.
"The EU is made up of our immediate geographical neighbours.
"It's one of the greatest areas to be able to move around as a musician because everyone is so close and because there are so many countries just over the Channel kind of clustered around, you can tour about.
"At least you could".
Geoff Barrow helped form the Somerset Mercury Prize winning band Portishead (named after the town).
He says the deal probably won't impact big names like Ed Sheeran, but adds most people have the wrong idea about who musicians are.
"They're like a lorry driver or, most of them are like dead normal, self employed plumbers, but their work takes them into Europe," he says.
"So it's hugely disappointing."
Barrow adds that often bands make more money performing on the continent than here at home.
"They value art and music a lot more than we do in England," he says.
"If you get a gig in England you might get, if you're fairly well known you might get £300.
"You take that into Europe and that could be €1,200-€2,000."
The petition calling on the government to renegotiate the rules has not yet been formally debated in parliament, but in response ministers have released a statement.
"During our negotiations, we proposed measures to allow creative professionals to travel and perform in both the UK and EU without needing work permits," it reads.
"Unfortunately, the EU rejected these proposals."
The EU however, has blamed the UK government for rejecting the idea.
Kerry McCarthy is the Labour MP for Bristol East and the Shadow Secretary of State for Green Transport.
"I think we should move away from blaming the EU as we're so fond of doing and get back round the negotiating table and try to sort this out before the live music circuit picks up again, hopefully in the summer" she tells us.
You can watch our special video report on the issue above.