#LetTheMusicPlay

Join the music industry today, in a plea for Government to help the live music sector

As well as supporting nearly 1/4 million jobs across the UK, venues, concerts, festivals and production companies added £4.5bn to the economy in 2019, but it will be one of the last sectors to reopen

There are two ways you can get involved in the campaign:

Read and sign The Joint Letter >

The letter has been signed by artists including Radiohead, The Cure, Dua Lipa, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Johnny Marr, Dizzee Rascal, Primal Scream, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Skepta and more, many of whom were due to perform at festivals this summer, such as Glastonbury, Leeds & Reading, Latitude, Parklife, TRNSMT.

560 venues and nearly 4,000 production crew vital to the success of the industry have also added their names.

Share images of your last gig with #LetTheMusicPlay

To coincide with the letter, hundreds of artists, venues, concerts, festivals, production companies and other people across the industry will today begin posting films and photos of their last live gig under the banner #LetTheMusicPlay.

You can get involved by:

• Posting a video or photo of your last show, with the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay
• Sharing other #LetTheMusicPlay posts and industry statistics
• Encouraging your colleagues, networks, family and friends to do the same.

Words from the industry

Dua Lipa said: “It’s incredibly important for artists like myself to speak up and support the live music industry in the UK. From the very start playing live concerts up and down the country has been a cornerstone for my own career. I am proud to have had the chance to play through all the levels … small clubs, then theatres and ballrooms and into arenas, and of course festivals in between each touring cycle. But the possibility for other emerging British artists to take the same path is in danger if the industry doesn’t receive much needed government support in the interim period before all the various venues, festivals and promoters are ready and able to operate independently again.

Emily Eavis, Glastonbury organiser, said: “The UK’s venues, festivals, performers and crew bring so much to this country’s culture and economy, but they are now facing desperate financial challenges. If the government doesn’t step up and support the British arts, we really could lose vital aspects of our culture forever.”

Phil Bowdery, Chairman of the Concert Promoters’ Association, said: “July would normally see the UK embarking on a world-famous summer of live music, but this year the lights are switched off and the microphones unplugged. Live music has sought to play its role in helping tackle Coronavirus, with many artists providing entertainment for people from their homes. But our shut down is likely to go on for much longer than most with many concerts and festivals unable to operate until 2021 at the earliest. Without rapid government support, the long-term impact will be devastating, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of highly-skilled jobs and billions of pounds from the UK economy.”