UK music industry and artists urge government for more relief with #LetTheMusicPlay campaign

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    Thu, Jul 2, 2020, 19:15
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  • Four Tet, Block9, Daniel Avery and more showed their support on social media today.
  • UK music industry and artists urge government for more relief with #LetTheMusicPlay campaign image
  • The #LetTheMusicPlay campaign is calling on the UK government to do more for the country's live music industry. A wide-range of UK artists and institutions—including names like Paul McCartney, Dizzee Rascal, Skepta and Dua Lipa, as well as the likes of Four Tet, Black Coffee, Daniel Avery and Herbie Hancock—came together to support a letter to the UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden, organised by UK Music. It was signed by more than 1,500 artists in total. "Our economic impact is also significant, with live music adding £4.5 billion to the British economy and supporting 210,000 jobs across the country in 2019," the letter reads. "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 great world-leading industry." The industry is calling on the government to provide more financial assistance (by way of extending furlough schemes, rent relief and other measures), a clear timeline on reopening venues and VAT exemptions on ticket sales. See the full policy run-down here. To get the word out about the initiative, there was a social media push today, asking fans and artists alike to share photos or videos from the last gig they went to before lockdown. Artists like Special Request, Fatboy Slim, Anna Calvi, Erol Alkan and Hot Chip voiced support, joined by institutions and promoters like Block9, Soul In Motion, shesaid.so, Printworks, Spiritland, NTIA, Music Venues Trust and more. "It would be nice if we had a government that believed in the intrinsic human value of live music, but we don't, so it's time to start speaking on their level and that is £££££," Daniel Avery said on Twitter. See more artists and community posts in support of the campaign.
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