Andy Crossland / Live4ever
Some of the biggest names in British music have signed an open letter to Oliver Dowden, the UK’s Secretary Of State For Digital, Culture, Media And Sport, calling on his government to better support the live music industry through current lockdown and social distancing measures.
Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Liam Gallagher, Rita Ora and Dizzee Rascal are just some of the more than 1,400 artists who are supporting #LetTheMusicPlay, highlighting the importance of live music as a pathway to success and longevity in their own careers as organisers predict that, ‘50% of the entire workforce is facing redundancy’, ‘90% of grassroots venues are facing closure’, ‘many operators are facing insolvency and, ‘many festivals will struggle to return next year’.
“Since the start of the pandemic it has been clear that the music industry, and particularly live music, would be heavily hit,” The Featured Artists Coalition’s general manager David Martin says. “That has become even more stark with the easing of lockdown. As many businesses reopen and return to something resembling normality, there is no end in sight for the UK’s venues, clubs and festivals or the artists and their teams that earn their living from them.”
“The UK’s live music industry contributed £4.5billion and almost a quarter of a million jobs to the UK economy in 2019. Live music is the fuel for the wider music industry, supporting creators to make the music that makes a success of our envied recorded sector. Beyond the economic impact however, our music industry makes an enormous contribution to our wellbeing, our society and our culture. Without the urgent support that we have outlined to Government, that enormous financial contribution will vanish along with huge part of our national identity.”