Although Covid may be the most obvious problem that musicians have had to face recently, another one may spring to mind – namely EU travel restrictions. To help combat the problems that many music equipment hauliers have faced recently when moving equipment around Europe, the government has recently announced how it will address the situation.
Grant Schapps, the UK’s Transport Secretary, revealed plans for a dual registration system that will lift the previous limit of three EU stops in a tour for equipment hauliers. When the plans come into action, hauliers will be allowed to stop as many times as they need for six months a year.
Schapps said of the situation that “It is unacceptable that, because of EU bureaucracy, the operations of our specialist haulage sector on which our artists rely have been put at risk, impacting the livelihoods of touring artists and sportspeople. Dual registration helps put this right and means that touring events can take place seamlessly across Great Britain, the EU and beyond, keeping our incredible cultural sector thriving for years to come.”
From music artists to Formula 1, Britain is at the heart of the cultural business. Today I have announced a new ‘dual registration’ option for specialist hauliers to ensure that all British talent can freely tour between Great Britain and the EU #LetTheMusicMove.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) May 6, 2022
It’s an encouraging sign that the government is listening to the music sector, with Whole Entertainment manager Ross Patel saying back in January that it was “depressingly apparent that the government will not act until we as an industry raise the alarm on these issues.”
It’s not been a fun time for musicians as of late with all the restrictions. London post-punk group White Lies recently had to cancel a show in France due to not being able to get all the equipment there on time. The band’s drummer, Jack Lawrence-Brown, noted that despite having “everything fully in order“, they “still found [themselves] in a situation where – because of Brexit – there are these inhumane motorway queues“. He blamed it on “Brexit fuck-ups and essentially a lack of government control over what’s happening in Dover.”
Tonight’s show can’t go ahead, even though we are in Paris. We are so gutted to announce this. News on rescheduling ASAP. Details below. pic.twitter.com/YDqJKjeJCJ — White Lies (@whiteliesmusic) April 7, 2022
Despite the apparently good news, some still believe there’s a way to go before the situation is under control. Duran Duran and Sam Smith touring manager Wob Roberts argues that the new regulations will be less beneficial to smaller artists who lack hubs in Europe. Although “UK-based tours [will] keep going“, Roberts says that artists who can’t “afford to set up a European arm are still going to be facing the same issues”.
So there you have it. Good news for many, but perhaps slightly less helpful for others. On the bright side, it’s one of many signs that live music is starting to heal after the disruption of the past few years. You can read here about how the damage from the pandemic has already started to resolve itself as of late.
