Bands and promoters fight Canada’s Introduction Of "World’s Worst Music Law"

Canada has introduced strict new laws that have increased fees for international bands who wish to tour across the country, up to as much as $425 per band member at each venue they play, as part of legislation enforced by the Ministry of Employment, Social Development & Multiculturalism, as the Calgary Herald reports. Promoters in Canada hit out at the recent changes in the rules governing foreign workers in the country which will make it much more expensive to put non-Canadian talent on stage in small bar and coffee shop-type venues. Spencer Brown, booker at Calgary haunt The Palomino, says the changes came without warning, and are "anti arts and culture" and "anti small business".

Where previously, touring artists paid a one-off fee of $150 to enter the country to perform, the new regulations – which became effective as of Wednesday 31st July – now sees any venue whose primary income is not from music (rbars and clubs that serve alcohol who “happen” to book bands) charging a $275 application fee per band member and for their crew (eg. managers, publicists, roadies and son), and an additional $150 for a work permit for each member. Worse still these application fees are non-refundable fee, meaning another payment upon re-submission.

To illustrate the now "ridiculous" costs of touring, if one of Canada’s own musical successes – the Grammy-winning Arcade Fire – were to hypothetically tour their own country as foreigners, the eight-member strong lineup would be staring down the barrel of $3,400 per show, and that’s before even considering finances for their road crew and live team. Sydney metalcore five-piece Northlane, who toured Canada at the tail-end of 2012, and actually recorded part of their breakout sophomore album Singularity in the country while on the road, has urged their fans to fight the excessive new Canadian touring fees. The  Employment And Social Development Canada and Citizenship And Immigration Canada, state that the new laws will "ensure that owners and managers of those types of establishments look to hire Canadians first before hiring temporary foreign workers", adding that "musicians in a band performing several tour dates in Canada and musicians and buskers coming to Canada to perform in festivals" will be exempt from the additional charges, the main stipulation being they don't play in bars and restaurants.

‘Daily nightmare’ of UK Border Agency’s visa rules for foreign artists and performers

The case of an American cellist, Kristin Ostling, who was sent back to Chicago by British immigration officials when she came to the UK to take part in an unpaid recital, has fuelled demands for an overhaul of the visa system for visiting artists and musicians. Ostling, who was due to perform at Leeds University, was subjected to eight hours of questioning before being told she was taking work away from UK musicians and sent home. Her case was highlighted in a recent House of Lords debate as evidence of the difficulties routinely faced by visiting artists and performers since the introduction in 2008 of the tier five "creative and sporting" category of the points-based immigration system. The demands to overhaul the system of artist and cultural visas follow complaints from leading arts figures, including Lady Bakewell, that such cases are no longer isolated incidents but the "daily nightmares" of concert planners and theatre managers across Britain. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, said unnecessary bureaucratic burdens should not be put in the way of artists and performers. "With competition from cities like Berlin, Shanghai or Mumbai, we must not jeopardise London's position as a world creative hub," he said. See more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/mar/21/home-secretary-visa-rules-arts