Within the landscape of new and emerging artists, it’s always sensible to take calculated risks, especially based on data. But when your data tells you to take your act to the USA, then it becomes an even bigger risk. This is due to a 250% price rise in artist visas, rising from $460 to $1,650 per person, meaning a band of 4 will cost $6,600 before you’ve even set foot in the country, and that’s if you get approved.
These rises affect everyone looking to enter the US to tour; here’s a breakdown of who and how.
Emerging Artists (From outside the US)
As an emerging artist, you have to count every cost and make sure everything is within budget, with the visa increase, already expensive touring has just taken an even bigger hit. The visa fee will take up a large amount from the pot, so weighing up whether the trip will regenerate costs or if it’s more effective to spend elsewhere, puts a lot of pressure on the artist.
The recent rises in visas to the US make it even more deterring when new acts heading to play European festivals, such as ‘Left of the Dial’, are offered travel, accommodation, food and high fees; it seems like a no-brainer, right?
Larger Ensembles
Another element to consider is the wider musicians in the band, whether the act is a solo artist with a band or a band, quickly multiplying the costs up. For example, taking a band of 4 will incur costs in visa up to $6,000 before you’ve paid for everyone's travel, accommodation, food, insurance, and any other costs the band amasses. This makes it a really tough decision for bands that have to travel as a unit but don’t have guaranteed fees coming in before their outgoing.
The visa application takes the fun out of being creative. Gareth Paisey, singer of the independent, seven-piece Welsh band Los Campesinos!, details going through their infinitary and press to prove they are ‘career musicians’ stating, “Nobody gets into a band because they’ve got a passion for making cash flow forecasts,” he says. “It’s unfair to expect people who are brilliant at writing songs to also be brilliant at filling out a 20-page visa application.” Later, we will go on to talk about the visa creating competition in music and making it resort back to business and cash flow.
Tour Planning
The increase has made it ever more important to plan tours in order to maximise time in the US; for many UK artists, this involves being part of SXSW, where you can use the pass as a visa for the time you are there and performing.
To play shows or tour around the festival, you will need to obtain a visa, but this is a more justifiable cost with festivals such as SXSW and New Colossus in the bag, helping the artist play to key territories and grow US audiences, helping earn back the visa costs, squeezing several tours into one to stay within the visa’s time period.
Local Economies & Wider Teams
The ripple effect of the visa rise will affect more than just the musicians with ‘drivers, tour managers and beyond who would be hired to work with international talent will lose work, venues will lose fruitful bookings, festivals that focus on international talent will reduce in size, the costs of tickets could increase and so on’.
Local economies will also be affected by the rise with fewer artists performing in their states, less money will be brought in through Food & Beverage, Accommodation and general tourist sectors.
Deterring artists from the US could leave major damage as artists will just snub the US, leading to less mixture in creative cultures and potential for other countries to implement similar prices to perform on their artists, building barriers to cross-country creativity.
Overall, the rise in visa prices has left artists on the cusp of US audiences with a big decision to make and bigger financial risks. With many European festivals and shows offering such lucrative packages, it makes it hard to think why you would opt for the risk of the US unless you were certain of turning a profit or saw huge market potential from your analytics.
