Becky Humphries
04 August 2020 00:00
We are going to #LetTheMusicPlay
Our industry is in need of urgent support. We're proud to stand together with our friends and colleagues in the live music industry today in a collective call for action.
Those who have worked in the industry will be aware of the amount of bodies that go into getting an empty arena bowl ready for some of the biggest artists in the world. That's from the team looking after the actual running of an event, to the staging crew, riggers, light and sound technicians, to security staff and health and safety officers, caterers, hospitality and the ticketing teams, as well as the hard-working lot that are there to give our lovely fans, all the information they need before and as they arrive to the venue, ensuring they have the best experience whilst attending a show. The list goes on and on...but what's unique about these people, is that they live and breathe live events. The commitment, the effort, the work that these super talented behind-the-scenes warriors do in the build up to and during an event is like no-other. And they do it because they love it. It's their life. It's our life.
The UK live music industry is a complex ecosystems that supports over 200,000 jobs and thousands of different companies and business types. This entire ecosystem needs urgent support.
Behind every show are specialist roles in venue operations, promotion, booking agency, management, production and many others. All of these jobs are now at serious risk.
The UK live music industry is projected to lose at least 60% of jobs, with the sector being hit hard by the collapse in live music, touring and festivals.
50% of businesses involved in the supply of services to the live music industry only have liquidity for 4 months.
Over 400 jobs support the production of every live music performance at an arena.
It's pretty daunting stuff isn't it? Today, we ask all followers of the @UtilitaArenaBHM, @RW_Arena and @ticketfactory, to use the #LetTheMusicPlay hashtag across their social media channels with the aim of making as much noise as possible.