On Thursday 2nd July, the UK music industry comes together under the banner of #LetTheMusicPlay in order to highlight the crisis faced by the live music sector. The purpose of the campaign is to make as loud a noise as possible to ensure the Government gets the message that the UK live music industry must be protected.
The first stage of the campaign is a letter to secretary of state for DCMS Oliver Dowden which now has signatures from hundreds of artists including Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi, Take That, Sam Smith, Beverley Knight, Eric Clapton, Muse etc, alongside thousands of crew.
But the main event needs everyone to get involved. We need to protect our venues, our workforce, and the infrastructure and companies that make up this business. Please share photos/ videos on social media of the last gig you went to using the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay
The Live music industry added £4.5bn to the economy in 2019 and supported 210,000 jobs across the country.
Up to 50% of the live music industry's workforce is facing unemployment, leading to a catastrophic loss of skills.
The UK is home to the most popular arenas in the world yet they are set to lose five million visitors due to COVID-19.
Music festivals support 85,000 jobs, but with the entire summer cancelled, many are currently facing collapse.
90% of grassroots music venues are under threat of closure. They need a £50 million cash injection to ensure they do not go out of business.