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Brexit: holding the Government to account to safeguard touring

The Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union (EU) was passed into law on 30 December. While leaving without it would have been disastrous for the UK economy, the agreement does not include adequate provisions for the creative services industry. This adds a great deal of red tape for touring musicians and has the potential to be extremely damaging to the music industry. Throughout this challenging and uncertain period, the ISM has continued to hold Government to account on its commitment to frictionless work travel. Our Chief Executive has met the Secretary of State as part of a series of discussions with key stakeholders from across the creative industries and the political spectrum. We have been at the forefront of efforts to unite different campaigns in order to coordinate our message, recommendations and other activities. Our External Affairs team has briefed peers and MPs for debates in Parliament, with many using our insight, and we have used our leadership of the Free Move Create network to maximise our impact. We have also maintained a high media profile throughout this process, with frequent appearances to make the case for music in the press in the UK and across the world. Our top priority is to find workable solutions that safeguard touring in the post-Brexit world. That is why we have joined forces with the Musicians’ Union to maximise our impact. Together, we are calling on the government to proactively engage with the EU to protect our industry. A possible way forward for the government is to explore new bilateral agreements with the EU and EU member states to exempt touring performers, creative teams and crews from visa and work permit requirements. In January, we raised awareness of this issue by supporting joint letters to the press and politicians. First, we helped bring together some of the biggest names in music, emerging artists and influential voices in our sector to try to save touring in the EU. They signed a letter that was featured on the front page of The Times and generated days of international, national and sector media. Following publication, we were approached by clerks in the House of Commons to help provide evidence to inquiries and committees of MPs. Visit our website to see the coverage we secured: ism.org/news/press-coverage Then one week later, six All-Party Political Groups (APPGs) and their secretariats (including the ISM) wrote to the government to highlight the devastating consequences of the Brexit deal for the performing arts across the UK. It highlighted four principal areas for action and included possible solutions: • movement of people (visas and work permits) • movement of goods (cabotage, carnets, CITES and

NI-GB/GB-NI restrictions) • social security coordination • funding Read the full letter: ism.org/images/files/ Performing-Arts_APPGs_Brexit-letter.pdf Musicians have rightly been at the top of the political agenda in recent weeks. On 20 January, MPs and Lords debated the impact of the Brexit Deal on touring. The ISM provided comprehensive briefings ahead of both debates. Afterwards, we put together a Twitter thread covering some of the highlights from both debates: twitter. com/ISM_music/status/1351574334108798978 Then in February, our Chief Executive spoke to MPs on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Select Committee setting out possible solutions for government to take forward to protect the music industry post-Brexit. You can read our evidence and see how the Government responded here: ism.org/news/ ism-evidence-dcms-committee Brexit has created enormous complexities for artists travelling to and from the UK. There are new rules to follow and processes to complete that our members need to understand. To help, we have continued to update our Brexit advice hub which includes information for UK nationals working in Europe, travelling with instruments or equipment, as well as considerations to take into account when signing contracts with EU bodies and individuals. We recently updated our guide summarising the visa and work permit requirements for UK performers touring in Europe, which is the most comprehensive document currently available in the music sector: ism.org/advice/ eu-work-permit-requirements-for-musicians Visit the Brexit advice hub: ism.org/advice-centre/brexit If you have consulted our Brexit advice resources and still have questions, then please contact membership@ism.org or call 020 7221 3499. Read our next feature for more information about the negotiations as well as possible solutions for the music industry

Coronavirus: Campaigning for support for musicians

As the crisis evolves and the situation for musicians worsens, we remain committed to fighting for our members to receive the help they urgently need. We began the year by lobbying for the fourth SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant to be maintained at the 80% level. We wrote to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to say that it was essential for the Government to deliver on its commitment on parity between the employed and self-employed. However, government schemes only benefit those eligible to receive them and it cannot be forgotten that an estimated three million self-employed workers continue to be excluded. Therefore, we emphasised that further measures are essential for preventing an exodus of highly skilled talent from our world-leading arts sector. Read the full letter to the Chancellor: ism.org/images/ files/ISM-letter-to-Chancellor-28.01.2021.pdf The Institute for Fiscal Studies published a report which showed that the cost for extending support to some of those excluded, who have less than 50% of their income coming from self-employment, would be extremely low. Aiding those 1.3 million self-employed people would be just 1% of the total cost to date of the current SEISS and furlough support schemes. You can read our response to that report here: ism.org/news/institute-for-fiscal-studies-reportmakes-the-case-for-supporting-excluded-musicians While it is positive that the Treasury is considering various proposals, England should follow the lead of the devolved governments and provide additional measures to ineligible groups. Ultimately, we want to see more support from the Cultural Recovery Funding reaching freelance musicians because the current ‘trickle down’ model is not working. That is why we continue to work closely with politicians across all four nations to discuss how we can achieve that. Going forward, it is crucial that we have a clear timeline for the road map to recovery. This clarity is essential so that the music sector has enough time to implement the necessary safety measures to resume later this year. We will also be relaunching our campaign to #MakeMusicWork in 2021 by calling on the government to: • remove the obstacles to venues reopening • improve the viability of live performance • introduce measures to ensure the sector continues to attract and retain talent As we approach the second year of the pandemic, we know how challenging this period has been for our members. That is why we are more determined than ever to make the government appreciate the contribution of the music sector and how we need urgent, effective support to prevent an exodus of world-leading talent.

Championing music education across the four nations

Late last year Ofsted published a report looking at the effects of COVID-19 on children and young people in England. It confirmed the findings of our report The Heart of the School is Missing, that the pandemic has led to music education provision being reduced in England. Our research showed that opportunities for pupils to make and create music are becoming more limited and now Ofsted has explained that this is due in part to the decision-making of some schools. However, the Department for Education (DfE) has continually published guidance at short notice, in some cases giving schools just a few days to implement safe practices, and this must surely

also be a factor. We were pleased that our report received national press coverage and was later used as evidence in editorials and other content. You can read The Heart of the School is Missing here: ism.org/news/heart-school-missing-report Earlier this year, The DfE and Ofqual ran three consultations covering how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021, alternative arrangements for the award of other qualifications and the future of post-16 qualifications at level 3. We encouraged our members to respond to these consultations because they were an excellent opportunity to ensure that teaching music remains part of a broad and balanced curriculum. This is just one aspect of our lobbying efforts with the DfE alongside our regular meetings with civil servants, MPs and other stakeholders across each of the devolved nations. Together, the ISM and its members can ensure that all pupils are able to access the rich benefits of studying music. You can read our responses to these consultations on our website: ism.org/news/educationconsultations-january-2021 We have been lobbying behind the scenes and meeting civil servants across four nations, campaigning for the revised National Plan for Music Education and the new model music curriculum to be published. We will update our members when more news is announced. In particular, we have continued our partnership with other key sector organisations through #CanDoMusic. This campaign was created to support school music teachers and signpost them to practical resources so that teaching music can continue during coronavirus. Find out more about the campaign here: candomusic.org/

Why recommend ISM membership to a friend?

With music professionals working in an increasingly uncertain world, ISM membership is more essential than ever. You can help to grow the ISM community by encouraging your friends and colleagues to join. We’ll also give you money off your next year’s membership fee every time someone you recommend joins us at the full or early career rate – £20 off if you are a full rate member, or £10 off if you are an early career rate member. If they join at the full rate, we’ll give them £10 off their membership fee too. Send the name and email address of the friend(s) you are recommending to membership@ism.org. Ask your friend to quote the code FULLREC if they are joining us at the full rate or EARLYREC if they are joining at the early career rate. Find out more at ism.org/recommend

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