Sir Rod Stewart, Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Ed Sheeran are among 1,500 acts calling for urgent action to save the live music industry.
They have written a joint letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to warn that the ‘world-leading’ sector is at imminent risk of suffering mass job losses.
The artists say: ‘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 agreed, the future for concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.
‘Until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, Government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry.’
Other musicians backing the action include Coldplay, Eric Clapton, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Liam Gallagher and Lewis Capaldi.Following today’s publication of the letter, artists, venues, festivals and production companies will post films and photos of their last live gigs or events using the hashtag ‘Let The Music Play’ on social media.
Photo Anita Mathis