A new survey published by the Musicians’ Union (MU) has found that 34% of British musicians are thinking about giving up their music career thanks to the impacts of COVID-19 on the music and events industry.
A total of 2,000 union members were surveyed and the results are worrying.
Nine in 10 respondents (88%) believe the government has not done enough for the music industry throughout the pandemic. The lack of support has meant there are hundreds of thousands of people left in limbo.
Eighty-seven percent of those who were covered by the furlough scheme have also said they’ll experience financial problems once it ends. And as the scheme is due to wind up in October, the industry is in need of emergency action.
Musicians’ Union
Currently, moral is low within the music community.
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It isn’t just musicians feeling the strain but all the venues, festivals and people behind the scenes that make our favourite events happen, too.
Many people are still out of work and without hope of things changing soon.
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So, it’s no wonder some are considering packing it all in and turning to other careers.
Reports have suggested that people have been forced to seek out additional work as delivery drivers or supermarket assistants in order to make ends meet.
The O2 Ritz is unable to open. Image: The Manc Audio
Commenting on the findings, Horace Trubridge, General Secretary of the MU, said: “These figures are devastating and show how many musicians are struggling financially and at real risk of leaving music for good.
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“In better times, our members drive a £5bn music industry with their talent. One artist’s gig will create a domino effect of jobs – from lighting technicians to ticket sellers. If one musician is out of work, you can be sure many others will be affected too.
“We appreciate all the Government has done to support our members through the furlough and self-employment income support schemes so far, but they must not abandon musicians now. With social distancing measures still in place, venues can only sell at around 30% of usual capacity.
“We are calling on the Government to implement a seat-matching scheme, which would take venues’ potential revenue to 60%, providing a lifeline to musicians and the wider industry.
“Getting musicians back to work is the priority. However, this is simply not realistic for so many of our members while social distancing remains in place. We strongly urge the Government to recognise the unique situation that our members are in and to provide sector specific financial support for musicians.”
Image: Diego Sulivan/Unplash
These findings arrive before even more restrictions were announced by Boris Johnson last night.
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The rules particularly affecting the music industry include the 10pm curfew, table service only and the “rule of six”. It’s believed that implementing these will make putting on events impossible, killing the industry further.
Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy advisor for Greater Manchester, has widely shared his views on the matter. On hearing the announcements yesterday, he called for more support from Rishi Sunak. He tweeted:
Without extending support, this Government will be remembered for ripping the heart out of our 5th biggest UK sector.
Huge redundancies and mass closures of theatres, live music venues, pubs, bar, restaurants, nightclubs and cultural organisations.@RishiSunak it's over to you:
The Warehouse Project and Parklife boss has warned that three out of five Manchester venues and night-time businesses could close for good without extra help.
Members of the industry have taken matters into their own hands in recent months.
In August, PLASA – the organisation behind the #WeMakeEvents campaign – held a march in Manchester where 100,000 industry members walked through the city in silent protest.
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The march called for financial help for the music industry through grants and the consideration of extending the furlough scheme until it was safe to return to work.
#WeMakeEvents Campain – PLASA
Another peaceful #WeMakeEvents demonstration outside Parliament is planned for September 29.
They hope to raise awareness of the unemployment risk, as thousands are at risk of losing their livelihood as a result of current restrictions.
Organisers are urging people to arrive masked up, remain socially distanced and sign in to Track and Trace to make sure the demonstration adheres to Covid-19 guidelines.
Manchester without music is a worrying prospect.
Audio
Manc rock band left ‘broke as f***’ despite just finishing EU arena tour as industry concerns grow
Danny Jones
Manchester musicians Witch Fever have revealed that they are now almost completely “broke” despite having just finished touring with a major rock band on a lengthy arena run across Europe, as concerns continue to grow around shows in the EU.
Post-Brexit, it has become increasingly more difficult for UK bands not only to make money playing around the mainland but to even book support slots in the first place.
From more stringent visa requirements that limit the amount of time they can perform on the road, as well as other essential work permits, to tax, transport and wider logistics, almost every aspect of the live music landscape has become more complicated on the continent.
Unfortunately, ‘Doom-punk’ outfit Witch Fever is one of countless groups being affected by these issues; opening up on a recent podcast appearance, they said that this is simply “what the music industry is like at the moment.”
As you can see, speaking in the most recent episode of the 101 Part Time Jobs with Giles Bidder – a fellow artist as well as pod and radio host – two members of the local outfit put it as plainly as they could: “we’re broke as f***”.
Breaking things down into as basic terms as possible, bassist Alex Thompson said that while the “fees are [already] low, the costs are getting higher and higher” relative to what they can afford.
Thompson went on to admit that she is now relying on the remainder of her late mother’s pension to get by and that no one in the band can even get a steady enough job right now because they’re heading back out on tour again this March.
As explained by lead singer Amy Walpole, the band has only just finished supporting Danish veterans Volbeat, but any potential ‘profit’ from the two-months’ worth of shows is currently “stuck in withholding taxes across Europe” – a common problem for most British artists trying to play overseas right now.
Surprisingly, they even received a little bit of backlash on social media since the interview (which you can watch in full HERE) went live.
This just in, JK Rowling super fan celebrating us struggling coz the music industry is impossible rn because *checks notes* it’s karma for disagreeing with JKs views lol
It wasn’t long ago that the Witch Fever gang booked a big hometown gig here in the city centre, either, as their warm-up shows for Volbeat also involved a trip to the AO Arena back in November.
We’ve seen them live a couple of times now, and if those shows were anything to go by, we really think you should go see them on their upcoming tour.
As it happens, we put them on our artists of the month round-up in January 2024, and they’ve only got bigger since then; it’s more important than ever that we support rising bands and grassroots venues on our doorstep when we can.
If you’re interested, you can grab your tickets now. Even if not, in the meantime, you can see what we had to say about them and four other fantastic Greater-Manchester-based bands down below.
Featured Images — Press shot (supplied)/101 Part Time Jobs (screenshot via YouTube)
Audio
A$AP Rocky announces huge Manchester gig on new world tour
Daisy Jackson
A$AP Rocky is heading out on a massive world tour, and is including a gig here in Manchester.
The rapper, producer, actor and entrepreneur has just announced his upcoming 2026 tour, the Don’t Be Dumb World Tour, with a whopping 42 dates across the globe.
This will be fans’ first chance to hear his latest album and first release in eight years, Don’t Be Dumb, live.
The huge A$AP Rocky tour kicks off this May in the USA, before heading across to Europe in July.
That leg will include a gig at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday 5 September, one of only three UK shows on the tour.
The announcement has come hot on the heels of the release of his fourth album last week, which Billboard has said ‘not only rewards patience but adds new wrinkles to the rapper’s approach — an evolved relationship with melody and a wiser lyrical slant’.
It became Spotify’s most pre-saved hip-hop album, with one million saves even before its release.
As well as his music career, A$AP Rocky has starred in films including the Golden Globe-winning If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and has cemented himself as a fashion icon with his work as co-chair of the 2025 Met Gala.
He’s also been announced as the creative director for Ray-Ban, and was appointed as Chanel’s new house ambassador.
General sale for the Don’t Be Dumb World Tour will go live at 9am on Tuesday 27 January HERE.
There’ll be artist pre-sales, a Mastercard pre-sale, and various VIP packages available too.
Hannah Starkie -
23rd September 2020 
