Tour Management: Crossing the UK/EU Border – Transporting musical instruments or equipment

No more ATA Carnets for small artists carrying their own musical instruments and equipment. MU member and founder of ukeartswork, Ian Smith says: “This in very real terms is great news.....It’s a game changer for smaller bands and musicians who do not have the budget to pay for a carnet, when in fact they're only taking over an instrument or two and an amp/mike.” Please note: This information and all information in this post does not constitute legal or immigration advice. It is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without our prior knowledge. Temporarily taking musical instruments or equipment to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland…

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Tour Management: Crossing the UK/EU Border Using a Carnet

If you are a band with European Tour Dates and are travelling in a Splitter Van with a Carnet across the UK/EU Border for the first time since Brexit, Mark at Iron Man Records explains how to keep it simple. I took an Americana Band called Mipso across Europe in June 2022. I learned a lot about post Brexit Border crossing. Here's what I would recommend if you have Tour Dates to play, the UK/EU Border to cross, and a Carnet to deal with. The first thing to do is go by Eurotunnel. Get a “passenger” ticket for a 9 seat Splitter van as it is classified as “a passenger carrying…

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Independent Record Labels of the Internet Era by Kristian Evans

Few people ask me questions these days. I'm probably deluded thinking anyone would actually want to know what I do for a living, and if I told them honestly they would probably think I'm mad. In truth, I like to be left to get on in peace so I don't really care. I think the last time I faced 20 questions was a round of "German Traffic Police Roadside Mastermind," but that's another story. A few months ago, I spent some time on Skype talking to Kristian Evans and answered as many questions as I could, probably more than 20, on the subject of Independent Record Labels in the age of…

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9 Questions answered by Mark at Iron Man Records, Birmingham, 2012.

How did Iron Man Records come about? I started buying records at an early age but soon found that record collecting was an expensive luxury and the only choice was what was stacked on the shelves or anything that hadnt already sold out. I spent time finding good second hand shops but again, the majority of records i found were old vinyl in poor condition or unwanted items and i could never find much I was interested in. I spent a lot of my time reading the music magazines for free in shops on saturday afternoons looking at the features and reviews but again there was never much i really found…

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