UK Music industry rallies for further government relief with #LetTheMusicPlay campaign

News

The UK Music industry has rallied for further government relief with a new campaign.

Launched yesterday (2nd July), UK music members behind #LetTheMusicPlay wrote an open letter to the government, urging them to support the live music industry.

In the letter, published on UKmusic.org, #LetTheMusicPlay signees outlined three “key asks” for the government in light of the recently announced five-stage plan for returning to “normal” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade,” #LetTheMusicPlay said. “But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for venues, concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.

“Like other countries such as Germany and Australia, we need the Government to help the music industry, which contributes £5.2 billion to the economy annually and sustains almost 200,000 jobs to ensure it remains world-leading following the damage caused by this pandemic.

“Until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry.”

They also outlined three key asks for the government in the letter, which included a clear conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing, and financial support packages for those venues in the interim.

Among the artists to support the hashtag were Black Coffee, Daniel Avery, Four Tet, and Skream, with London mega-venue Printworks and Glastonbury behemoths Block9 also backing the campaign.

You can read the full letter from #LetTheMusicPlay here.

Earlier this week, Music Venues Trust warned the UK government that new scheme, “project speed”, could threaten the future of live music.