Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran among 1500 to write to UK govt, seek help for music industry

The entertainment industry has been among the worst affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not just have film releases been delayed and shooting has been put off, the music industry too has been brought to a standstill due to coronavirus. Amid live performances and concerts being cancelled or postponed due to the crisis, 1500 British musicians have written to the government, seeking help for ‘survival’ of the industry.

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Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones were among the artists, who penned an open letter to British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden on Thursday. The stars claimed that the future of performers and all those who were working in the industry looked ‘bleak’ currently. Predicting normalcy to only return by 2021, the artists highlighted the importance of the government in supporting the citizens to ‘prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry.’

The letter sought a timeline on the resumption of venues for the performances, as well the measures to support the artists and others working in the industry in terms of businesses and jobs. The artists, in the letter, claimed that the industry contributed 4.5 billion pounds to the country’s economy in 2019, apart from supporting 210,000 jobs.

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Right from the veterans to the youngsters, the letter was also signed by Coldplay, Sting, Dua Lipa, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Bob Geldof, as well as the producers and operators of the concert venues.

Minister Oliver Dowden acknowledged the letter and replied that he understood the ‘deep anxiety’ of those working in the music industry. He assured that he was ‘pushing hard’ to be able to give them a ‘clear roadmap’ back amid the norms of the ‘life-saving’ social distancing that will be required to be followed in the next few months too.

Here’s the tweet  

I understand the deep anxiety of those working in music & the desire to see fixed dates for reopening

I am pushing hard for these dates & to give you a clear roadmap back

These involve v difficult decisions about the future of social distancing, which we know has saved lives

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) July 1, 2020

The United Kingdom is among the worst-affected countries due to COVID-19 pandemic, with over three lakhs cases and more than 40,000 deaths.

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