It may seem like we are a little obsessed, but the focus on live music was always going to be inevitable – from artists to bookers, promoters, curators, education, venues, venue staff, permanent staff, freelancers, the harrowing impact permeates considerably. “The live music industry – which was worth £4.5 billion to the UK economy in 2019 – is one of the business sectors worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, being among the first to close and very likely to be the last to fully reopen” (UK Live Music: At a Cliff Edge). With governments still questioning the value of the arts, not only can this swiftly be challenged, we need to ask ourselves simply, what have we been using to escape, question and learn during these difficult times? Films, television, music, literature, performance. They do not appear out of thin air.
Read the full report here.