UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for venues, concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.
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A Statement from the Save London Music Campaign regarding the partial lifting of lockdown.
Last week, in anticipation of todays announcement, the Save London Music Campaign asked for assistance for live music, theatres and other arts venues. Specifically the campaign asked for the following measures.
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to you on behalf of the #SaveLondonMusic campaign regarding enhanced support for the arts, music and creative sector. Our campaign was started in 2015, with the aim of protecting, preserving and enhancing the live music scene in London. Until the lockdown, we have been seeing a real resurgence of live music in London. London is the heart of the UK creative sector. The UK music sector contributes £5 billion to the economy, but the true contribution is far higher, extending the soft influence of the UK globally.
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The 100 Club’s Jeff Hortonrecently spoke in parliament about the state of London’s grassroots music scene. The whole discussion can be found online at Parliament TV.
The Save London Music Campaign is delighted to have been informed that our submission has been accepted by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of their inquiry into Live Music. Submissions have also been accepted by several other campaigns we have links with (Click here for the full list). We are pleased to see that the Live Music Forum, Association of Independent Festivals and Music Venues Trust have also seen their submissions accepted. It is interesting to see that much of what these three submissions say is the same, if phrased in a different manner, although the Association of Independent Festivals submission has a slightly different tack, as the issue of ticket abuse is tackled.
By Rog T – Founder of Save London Music and owner of Mill Hill Music Complex,
It is with much sadness that the #SaveLondonMusic campaign has learned that Survival Studios in Acton are closing. The London Music scene is already chronically short of good studio space.
By Roger Tichborne, Founder of the Save London Music Campaign.
Summer feels like it has arrived in our little corner of the worlds greatest city. Even better news is that we have a couple of amazing weekends of live music coming up. On the 19th and 20th, we have the amazing North Finchley Festival. There will be nearly 60 bands playing at six venues in North Finchley. We’ve got an eclectic mix of music with just about every genre of music represented.
The UK Live Music Census was released on Friday, and it’s really packed full of useful information you should know and can use! The Census was conducted by academic researchers who are passionate about music. Here are some of the findings:
After a decade and a half of decline, we are finally starting to see the tide turn in the battle to save Londons live music scene. In 2016 the Mayor of London set up a London Music Board and has also appointed a Night Tzar for music (Amy Lame). A recent report by the board has reported that the tide is turning and for the first time in a decade, the number of grassroots venues has remained stable.
Mark Sutherland has written an excellent article for music week about agent of change legislation/
The news that the government will now support plans to include the “agent of change” principle in planning law was a great victory for UK Music and all the other campaigners who turned up at the recent demonstration in Westminster and have kept the pressure on in recent months.
But, while anything that helps out the beleaguered pubs and clubs that remain the lifeblood of local scenes has to be good news, smaller venues will need more than a sympathetic ear over noise complaints if they’re to survive in the music industry’s bold new future. Such complaints are usually the final straw in a venue’s demise, rarely the first one.