Changes to the US system of travel visas that could greatly increase the costs for foreign musicians touring there are still sparking unrest within the music industry.
We reported in February on the expansion of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign to the US in protest at the changes, which UK industry bodies the MMF and FAC said could increase artist visa costs by more than 250%.
Now a wider group of industry bodies has written to the UK’s secretary of state for business and trade Kemi Badenoch MP encouraging her to lobby the US authorities to abandon the plans.
“The impact of these changes is huge. With the ongoing cost of living crisis and the live sector still recovering from the impacts of COVID-19, such increases would make it unaffordable for many British acts to work and perform in the world’s biggest music market,” claimed the letter, signed by groups including the BPI, AIM, FAC, Ivors Academy, Musicians’ Union, MMF, PPL, PRS for Music and umbrella body UK Music.
Alongside the letter, the #LetTheMusicMove campaign has enlisted more artists to bolster its case, including members of Idles and Hot Chip, and Rina Sawayama.
“After what we’ve been through with Brexit and the pandemic, the implications of these new visa proposals are incredibly worrying for all artists wanting to travel and perform in the US,” said Sawayama.
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