More than 100 leading musicians, including Elton John, The Who’s Roger Daltry, and Simon Rattle have criticised the Brexit deal with the European Union (EU) in an open letter in The Times newspaper. They wrote that this deal of the government with the EU has failed the musicians. The government’s failure to secure visa-free travel for the musicians was addressed as it would create various obstacles in their careers.

Leading musicians like Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher from Oasis, and Queen’s Brian May had also signed the open letter. The letter spoke about how this would affect the free movement of musicians around Europe for their performances.

Red tape around touring and additional work permits for performers of Britain in Europe would affect their careers, especially for the young emerging musicians, amid the ban on live music because of COVID-19.

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There has been agitation against the new travel rules among musicians and others in the creative industries after Britain officially exited the EU in December 2020.

A petition has been filed calling for visa-free travel and cultural work permit with the EU. It has received 263,000 signatures online till now.

The government of London has shifted the blame on Brussels.

The EU’s chief negotiator for Brexit has denied opposing free movement of musicians. He said that ‘ambitious proposals’ had been offered around mobility.

The Cultural minister Caroline Dineage said on Tuesday that the door is open if Brussels was willing to consider the proposals made by them on visa arrangements for musicians. She said that the proposals made by the EU were not compatible with the government’s commitment that it wanted to take back control of the borders.

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The musicians have demanded that the government should stand by its words and negotiate a deal for paperwork-free travel.

The music industry in Britain has already been hit hard by the pandemic as the country is one of the worst affected by the virus. It has recorded over 90,000 deaths.

The organisers of the music festivals of Britain have said that the global health crisis devastated their sector. Without the lack of government support and an indication of when music venues can open, annual summer events would disappear, they warned.