US hikes up visa costs

US visa fees for foreign musicians are set to increase 42% on 23rd December. The new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule reveals the fee for submitting form I-129 for “non immigrant workers” – which includes artists and entertainers – is set to increase from $325 to $460.  USCIS director León Rodríguez says: “This is our first fee increase since November 2010 […] We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews.


The fee is per act as a whole, no matter how many people that comprises. A separate fee, which will increase the same amount, also applies to the crew, again regardless of the number of people.

The Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) has responded to the increase, as Billboard reports: “A fee surge of this kind adds an additional and unacceptable financial burden on our members,” said executive director Liana White.

http://www.iq-mag.net/2016/11/us-visa-fees-hiked-42-percent-touring-artist/#.WBzPY_mLSM9

Skepta and Lush face visa problems

Skepta has been refused entry to the US after US authorities decided not to give him a work visa. He won't be able to perform at Coachella. The rest of his US tour dates might be cancelled too.

And British band Lush has been forced to cancel their performance at weekend 1 of Coachella and reschedule their concert in San Francisco on Sunday, citing visa issues.  According to a press release, the recently reunited band will still be performing at Coachella weekend 2, and its other West Coast shows remain scheduled as planned.

Skepta’s 'Shutdown' in one of the final three nominations in the Best Contemporary Song category at the 2016 Ivor Novello Awards

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36056565/skepta-denied-entry-to-america-after-being-refused-a-visa

Tyler the Creator banned from UK for 2009 homophobic lyrics

The circumstances that have prevented Tyler, The Creator from playing the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend have been explained as visa issues. His manager, Christian Clancy,  took to Tumblr to say ""Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the Secretary Of State for the home department [sic] of the United Kingdom. The letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote six to seven years ago for his albums 'Bastard' and 'Goblin' –the type of lyrics he hasn't written since... highlights from the letter include that his work 'encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality' and 'fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts'. I grew up on NWA, Eminem and Rage Against The Machine, so it's hard for me to fully wrap my head [around] this thought process and its implications".  The rapper also recently cancelled dates in Australia, where there had been calls for his visa application to be denied because of similar issues with past lyrics.

More here http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/sep/01/tyler-the-creator-comments-banned-uk-freedom-of-speech

A2IM calls on the US to relax visa rules for Canadian acts

CMU Daily reports that American indie label trade group A2IM has used the Canadian Music Week conference in Toronto last week to call on the US to remove visa requirements for Canadian artists who wish to tour the States. The Canadian government last year axed the red tape American artists used to have to navigate to tour north of the border, and A2IM says its home country should return the favour, which seems reasonable. The trade group said on Friday: "Under current legislation, Canadian artists are only able to tour within the US after securing a P Visa, a practice that is mandated to be processed in two weeks but can often stretch to six months time. This can stall tours and result in artists, US clubs and restaurants losing revenue. Relaxing visa requirements would allow for an open exchange of ideas and cultural reciprocity between two neighbouring countries". Noting how this impacts on its members, A2IM added: "Our diverse membership nationwide with Canadian artists on their roster has been impacted by this practice and support eliminating the visa requirement".

London 2012 tickets row

Ticket sales for the 2012 London Summer Olympics had a rocky start - within hours of the March 15 launch of LOCOG's (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) official Olympics tickets Web site, fans reported problems with the process. Those whose VISA credit cards expire before August 2011 found that they were prevented from buying tickets at the site - and organisers faced further complainst that limiting sales to JUST Visa (an official sponsor) with no other ways of buying tickets, was counterproductive and unfair to buyers.