Four in 10 musicians could leave Britain over EU touring fears – poll

More than 40% of musicians polled about their work in the European Union said they would consider relocating to Europe to continue accessing jobs, with a fifth contemplating changing career entirely.

Musicians warned that the red tape and additional costs of touring and working in Europe after Brexit would have substantial impacts on their careers, as membership bodies the Incorporated Society of Musicians and the Musicians’ Union – which conducted the survey – said the damage to the industry would be immeasurable if a solution to the crisis were not found.

Three-quarters (77%) of the 545 respondents surveyed expect their earnings in Europe to drop once coronavirus travel restrictions ease, with a similar proportion (73%) expecting the effects of Brexit to impact their overall ability to make a living.

The survey found:

• Less than half (43%) are still planning work in the EU in future.
• 42% would consider relocating so that they could carry on working.
• 21% of musicians would consider changing careers completely.
• A quarter (26%) said they have lost work scheduled for both 2021 and 2022 as a result of the impacts of Brexit.

One respondent reported having lost £40,000 already, with others claiming that the cost of visas, work permits and carnets for equipment now meant that EU touring would be loss-making for them. Musicians also revealed they had been passed over for jobs, before even applying, because they did not hold an EU passport.

MU general secretary Horace Trubridge said the results exposed the "drastic action" being contemplated by UK-based musicians "due to the enormous obstacles they face in taking their world-renowned talent into the EU marketplace".

"This government failed to ensure that performers would be protected from acres of bureaucracy and additional costs when the Trade and Cooperation Agreement was negotiated," Trubridge said, arguing that the crisis could lead to the loss of a "large chunk" of the industry.

"The prime minister needs to step in and sort this mess out now just like he promised when questioned in the House [of Commons] some weeks ago. The damage done to the UK music industry if the government does not act is immeasurable," he said.

In March, Boris Johnson told a parliamentary committee that he would fix the crisis, promising that ministers were working "flat out" on a solution.

ISM chief executive Deborah Annetts said the government must deliver on these promises so that the situation could be resolved.

Annetts and the ISM have repeatedly called on the government for a bespoke visa agreement with the EU for the creative sector, as well as for tailored agreements with individual member states to be negotiated.

Since the UK-EU trasition period ended five months ago, theatremakers and other creatives have told of the extensive administrative and cost burden that now comes with working in Europe, after a specific agreement for the creative sector was not included in the post-Brexit trade agreement.

Some have reported paying hundreds of pounds and spending weeks securing visas, work permits and other required documentation, with others losing out on jobs because of the additional paperwork now involved in hiring British talent.

The sector is warning that reduced travel during the pandemic is masking the true scale of the problem, and that the recovery and long-term success of the UK’s creative industries is at risk as a result.

Musicians were surveyed by the ISM and the MU in April and May 2021. They reported earning, on average, £8,900 a year on gigs in Europe before the pandemic, with a fifth of all respondents taking on more than 21 engagements in Europe in a normal year.