Almost half of musicians and music industry workers surveyed have had less work in the EU following Brexit, according to a study by the Independent Society of Musicians.

The report, titled Paying the Price, surveyed 400 people who have worked in Europe since January 2021. Thirty-nine percent have had to turn down work, while 40% have had work canceled in the same period. The most frequently cited expense was for visas and work permits (23%), followed by carnets (18%) and travel costs (14%).

Over a quarter (27.8%) of respondents said they have had no work in the EU at all. One testimonial in the report says “the offer of European gigs has dried up completely” and their band can’t make “any kind of living in the tiny U.K. market” alone.

The report is here.

ISM has made a number of recommendations to the British Government to improve the situation. Most of these wouldn’t require a renegotiation of the EK-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement, according to ISM Chief Exec Deborah Annetts.

“The government has been asleep on the job. It could have tackled many of the issues facing the music sector by itself and made Brexit work. It chose not to,” she said.

“Brexit should never have meant that musicians cannot share their talent freely with our closest neighbors. This damages our country, our soft power and our precious creative talent pipeline. We call on the government to take action and make Brexit work for the wellbeing of musicians and our economy.”