FEATURE:
Exodus
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One-Third of British Musicians Are Considering Quitting the Industry
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AS new measurements have been…
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put in place by the British government, it means that the future for music venues is very unsure. Many have planned gigs and events for early next year. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that new restrictions may last for six months, so I wonder whether music venues will be able to reopen in full until after then. It not only means that bands and traditional artists are struggling and will see their livelihoods affected, but there are a lot of professional musicians who cannot play and survive because they cannot get work; venues cannot operate at capacity and so many others are going to struggle to survive. This article from The Guardian explains more:
“One-third of professional British musicians are considering giving up their careers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A survey of 2,000 members of the Musicians’ Union found that 34% “are considering abandoning the industry completely”, because of the financial difficulties they face during the pandemic, as performance opportunities are severely curtailed.
Almost half have already found work outside their industry, and 70% are unable to do more than a quarter of their usual work. Eighty-seven per cent of musicians covered by furlough and self-employment support schemes say they will face financial hardship when the schemes are due to end in October.
“Musicians are working in supermarkets, being Deliveroo drivers, going back to things they trained for early in life,” Horace Trubridge, the union’s general secretary, told the Guardian. “Anything but music – that’s the problem.
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“We’re going into an autumn and winter with months of no work, and no financial support from the government at all apart from universal credit – which is appalling for an industry that’s worth £5.2bn.”
The survey follows another last month by musician booking service Encore, who found that 64% of 560 musicians they surveyed were thinking of leaving the profession. 41% reported having no bookings for the remainder of the year.
Concert venues have been allowed to reopen with social distancing, but there are scarcely any concerts taking place compared with the start of 2020. Weddings, conferences and other live events, where professional musicians often make a portion of their income, have dropped in number, as has the amount of music teaching.
The Musicians’ Union is proposing a “2-for-1” scheme similar to the government’s eat out to help out scheme, in which the government would underwrite the cost of a second seat at a concert – effectively allowing those seats to be removed or blocked to ensure social distancing. But as the UK anticipates more stringent measures to contain the virus, Trubridge says: “It’s all looking extremely bleak again. We’d love to have a date we can move to stage five of the roadmap, where indoor music can occur without social distancing, but that seems a long way off with the current state of the pandemic”.
It is hard for everyone right now, but there needs to be more money from the Government injected to the arts. From sustaining venues and supporting musicians who are self-employed to making certain that there is advice and support available to them, it is a crucial moment where so many musicians might leave music and never come back.
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Not only does this have dire ramifications for the music industry, but it will obviously mean fewer bookings for venues – who will want as many bookings and gigs next year when things start to stabilise. It is heart-aching to think that so many passionate musicians have no option but to find work elsewhere, and it will be hard to recover from the sort of loss. At a time when it will be hard to educate, train and foster new musicians and encourage them into the industry, we need to preserve and sustain the industry so that as many musicians as possible keep going. With the future looking uncertain and ever-changing, it is imperative that the Government offers emergency funds and some sort of foundation to the music industry – beyond what it has done so already. There is going to be little incentive for many musicians to keep playing and recording if they cannot perform or they feel like 2021 will be a very quiet year. I have hopes that things will work out and there will be some sort of funds allocated to support musicians. It is a desperate time, and the loss the music industry has incurred so far is immense. Let’s hope that we can keep as many musicians as possible playing and performing as we…
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NEED them more than ever.