Elton John has today (10 June 2021) released a statement on the “European Touring Crisis Facing Emerging Artists,” following his meeting with Rocket Entertainment CEO and husband David Furnish, promoter Craig Stanley and Lord Frost.
The statement outlines the danger of losing a “generation of talent” after the UK Government did not reach a touring agreement regarding visa-free travel for music artists during Brexit negotiations, which could cause mounting costs that are feared to hit emerging musicians the hardest.
In the statement, which was initially read to MPs during a hearing by the Digital, Culture, Media (DCMS) and Sport Committee on EU visa arrangements for those in the creative industries, Sir Elton John described the situation as a “looming catastrophe.” He said: “This gravest of situations is about the damage to the next generation of musicians and emerging artists, whose careers will stall before they’ve even started due to this infuriating blame game.”
He continued: “Despite this looming catastrophe, the government seems unable or unwilling to fix this gaping hole in their trade deal and defaults to blaming the EU rather than finding ways out of this mess.”
Recognising the issue does not impact himself or other high profile artists, John said: “We are lucky enough to have the support staff, finance and infrastructure to cut through the red tape that Lord Frost’s no deal has created…if I had faced the financial and logistical obstacles facing young musicians now when I started out, I’d never have had the opportunity to build the foundations of my career… Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have time. It is dying now. The government have broken the promise they outlined in 2020 to protect musicians and other creative industries from the impact of Brexit on tours to Europe.”
The Rocket Man concluded: “I call on the government to sort this mess out or we risk losing future generations of world-beating talent. This is about whether one of the UK’s most successful industries, worth £111bn a year, is allowed to prosper and contribute hugely to both our cultural and economic wealth, or crash and burn.”
Lord Frost, the Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union until the position was abolished last January, failed to show for today’s Select Committee meeting. Chair of the Commons Committee for Culture, Media and Sport, Julian Knight, said on Frost’s absence: “Parliamentary scrutiny in front of select committees is of crucial importance in our democratic system and is particularly important when we have a government with a majority of over 80. It is brought into even sharper focus when the government chooses to appoint members of the House of Lords to Cabinet. Ministers in Cabinet from the Commons have scrutiny due to questions, urgent statements and departmental questions.”
You can read Elton John’s complete statement via his official Instagram page.
You can also watch the full Digital, Culture, Media and Sport official meeting on EU visa arrangements for creative workers via gov.uk.
