The UK Council of Music Makers (CMM) – comprising FAC, Ivors Academy, MMF, MPG and the MU – call on Government and Arts Council England to strategically use the COVID culture funding package to open venues safely and support music performance as a priority.

As the united voice of music creators and performers, CMM writes to you in consideration of the opportunity for effective trickle-down potential of the Government’s £1.5bn cultural fund by spending it wisely to support economic and musical activity, not inactivity.

It is beneficial to our wider industry – and its vast economic contribution – to encourage and fund music venues (and other businesses) to reopen safely, with limited capacity and following COVID-safe guidelines, rather than supporting continuing closures.

CMM understands the support of infrastructure such as venues and festivals is key to aid the recovery and revitalisation of the music industry ecosystem and we urge you to implement this with consideration to the supply chain of such organisational funding recipients.

The positive effect of opening venues ‘primes the pump’ to allow money to move through the supply chain. By doing this you can support the livelihoods of the live industry as a whole, including artists and their teams, tech and hospitality staff within venues. This also has the huge public benefit of bringing live music back to the people.

Our collective memberships – musicians, songwriters, composers, producers, featured artists, and their managers are vital to this restart and looking holistically at how funding is best used, you must consider their all-important place within the ecosystem.

Funding mothballing of institutions serves to be counterproductive and much less beneficial for the wider economy than a subsidised restarting of economic activity. We call for this to be held in consideration when choosing to support organisations with this vital cultural fund.

Yours sincerely,

Council of Music Makers (UK)
Featured Artists Coalition (FAC)
Ivors Academy (IA)
Music Managers Forum (MMF)
Music Producers Guild (MPG)
Musicians’ Union (MU)