Touring in another country ain’t low-cost, and it’d quickly change into much more costly for artists to convey their music to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security has proposed important value will increase for the O-type and P-type visas granted to performers. Under the proposed change, the price of an O-type visa petition would improve from $460 to $1,655 — a rise of 260%. The payment for P-type petitions would rise from $460 to $1,615 — a 251% bump.
This potential change has triggered concern amongst many musicians in Canada. The nonprofit group Folk Music Ontario has posted a name to motion linking to the US federal register, the place involved events can register a touch upon the proposed rule change. Americans wishing to hold forth on the coverage should remark on the hyperlink on or earlier than March 6.
Canadian musicians together with the Weather Station (pictured) and Tess Roby have additionally raised the alarm. “Holy shit,” Roby wrote on Twitter, sharing Folk Music Ontario’s submit. “They want to triple the cost of US touring Visas for Canadian artists. PLEASE make your voice heard and share this widely!” The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman amplified Roby’s tweet, including, “If you are a US citizen or Organization, please make an official comment on this – instructions below – For context we already spend thousands of dollars just on visas to enter the US; it’s the only country we tour to with these prohibitive visa costs.” In a subsequent tweet, Lindeman continued, “It’s a huge hardship to pay such high visa fees, in addition to a 30% withholding tax when we play in the US. It is hard enough to make money on tour as it is.”
In an e-mail to Stereogum alerting us to the scenario, Tom McGreevy of Ducks Ltd. wrote, “This is a pretty big deal for bands from other countries, as it’s a significant burden on newer bands especially, but is also something that would impact American audiences in a significant way, as it’s going to discourage an awful lot of bands from touring and taking the first steps in building an audience here.”