The increased challenges facing tour and concert organisers, artists, agents, management companies and others involved with cultural exchange in an international context has emerged as one of the main areas of discussion within the music industries and its wider community. The problems identified in the paper focus on administrative procedures, lack of transparency, lack of harmonisation, costs and ineffective information systems. It is the hope that this White Paper will clarify why the EU must change its procedures in order to live up to its obligations under the UNESCO convention. It should also be noted that European artists suffer by virtue of similar procedures applied by the United States of America and others.