Coronavirus has begun to impact the music industry in a number of ways.

Our centres in Exeter, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton, Gateshead and are now closed until further notice. Including our head office in Exeter – staff and tutors are working from home and contactable via email.

Please do don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you have any queries.

On Monday the Government announced that it would no longer be supporting mass gatherings, with changes expected to last for a few months at least. This follows Ireland, Scotland, and many other countries over the world. It means the live events, music and leisure sector is at a huge risk, those who freelance and those who are part of the gig economy will also largely be effected. IT is also unclear what the future of UK festivals will be like after this summer. 

This is a very sad time for everyone in the live event space, hospitality, and arts more broadly. This virus has had unimaginable effects for event organisers, artists, suppliers and all those who work in this fantastic industry. The likes of such a cataclysmic event are so rare and our thoughts go out to everyone affected this very weird moment in time.

Every year we run a stage at Bearded Theory Festival in Derbyshire and run a competition where we ask acts to apply to play. The festival was set to take place on the late May Bank Holiday as it alwayss – the status of many UK festivals remains uncertain. They released a statement a few weeks ago stating stating that they will likely postpone the event for September, and just last week they confirmed a postponed date for 10th-13th September. You can read the full statement here.

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Help and Advice.

In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of some helpful advice for working musicians and artists who might be effected by the recent crisis caused by Coronavirus (Covid-19). It includes important advice from The Musician’s Union – who have launched a Hardship Fund, Help Musicians UK, who are running a helpline, PRS for Music, who have launched an Emergency Relief Fund, and Creative Scotland, who have promised 3 new funds. Plus there is an ongoing list from The Skinny on events in Scotland that have been cancelled.

If you’re a musician , DJ , artist , creative of any kind who relies on travelling and live performance for income the @WeAreTheMU have also set up an email for the latest updates and advice on the corona outbreak .
Sign up for covid-19 updates here.

How are you spending your self-isolation? Making music? What are you listening to to get you through it? Pop us a message and we’ll share…

Other Useful Resources.

#SaveOurScene.

Electronic music platform Resident Advisor have launched a campaign called #SaveOurScene, calling on ticket buyers to avoiding claiming for refunds where possible and where you can afford, in order to support a dance music scene that has suffered incredibly from the covid-19 crisis.

It comes after a number of festivals have been cancelled indefinitely, artists are loosing booking fees and gigs, and events are postponed for the foreseeable future, meaning there is no money to support the scene and sector itself. They ask, if you have a ticket to any upcoming event that may be postponed or cancelled, to resist asking for a refund. You can read the full campaign on the RA website.

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The Scottish Music Centre have also produced a very helpful guide for for Musicians, Music Businesses and Freelancers in the Scottish music scene during the pandemic. Take a look here.

There’s a petition running asking for government for economic assistance to the events industry during the pandemic. If you work in events, or might be affect, it could be worth singing: HERE

Plus, you can get the latest on music industry figures, stats and financial situation on the Music Business Worldwide‘s regular newsletter. Read their letter from 13th March 2020 here.

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We’ll be back soon with more.

AMS x