The problem
A UK wedding band asked to play in Portugal, Italy or the south of France has to know before quoting whether the players need a work permit, whether the instruments and kit need paperwork, whether any instrument needs a CITES certificate and how to stay on UK National Insurance. Researching that from scratch takes about 2 hours an inquiry. With 2 overseas inquiries a month that's 4 hours, often for a quote that goes to whichever band replied first.
What the AI does
Perplexity answers with inline citations to the pages it used, on every plan including the free one, so each claim can be checked at its source. The band leader asks about one country at a time, describing the band, the dates and the passports, and clicks through to GOV.UK's guidance for musicians touring in Europe and the destination's own official pages, treating blogs and old news as leads only. Pro ($17, about $17£13€15A$25C$24 a month billed annually) adds fuller Deep Research reports. The band leader keeps a one-page note per country with links and the date checked, and confirms anything that decides the quote, such as a work permit, with the official source or the country's embassy. Tax on overseas fees is a question for the band's accountant.
A worked example
A 6-piece function band in Surrey gets about 2 inquiries a month for weddings abroad, mostly in Spain, Portugal and Italy. The band leader researches each country in Perplexity's free plan and keeps a note per country for the next inquiry.
Before
About 2 hours of research per overseas inquiry: 2 × 2 = 4 hours a month
After
About 45 minutes per inquiry, including reading the cited GOV.UK and official pages: 1.5 hours a month
What it's worth
About $100£75€89A$144C$141 a month in time saved, at no cost on the free plan or about $17£13€15A$25C$24 a month on Pro. Research drops from 4 hours a month to 1.5, and 2.5 hours at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour is $100£75€89A$144C$141.
How to set it up
- Start with Perplexity's free plan; take Pro ($17, about $17£13€15A$25C$24 a month billed annually) only if you want longer Deep Research reports.
- Ask about one country at a time, for example: "A 6-piece UK band with British passports and a sound engineer is playing one private wedding in Portugal over 3 days. What do they need for work permits, social security, equipment and instruments made with protected materials? Cite GOV.UK and official Portuguese sources."
- Open every cited source. Rely on GOV.UK, the destination's official pages and its embassy, and treat blogs and old news stories as leads only.
- Check the date on each source, then write a one-page note per country with the links and the date you checked.
- Before quoting, confirm anything that decides the price, such as a work permit, with the official source, and build any permit, paperwork or travel costs into the quote.
What goes wrong
- Rules change and differ by country. GOV.UK's guidance for musicians touring in Europe was last updated in November 2022 and says to check each country's own rules, so check the date on every source.
- A citation shows where a claim came from, not that it's right. Perplexity can cite an out-of-date news story or a blog.
- Players and deps with non-UK passports may face different rules from British passport holders; ask each player before quoting.
- Perplexity isn't legal or tax advice. The free plan's Deep Research is limited, and Pro is for one person's use.