Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill foretold that U.K. cultural aid left nightlife to “slip through the cracks” back in July. A Live Music Industry Venues and Entertainment (LIVE) report now warns that the music industry is “at a cliff edge,” estimating that 170,000 jobs will be lost by the end of 2020.
Authored by Chris Carey of Ticketswap and former Live Nation and Ticketmaster executive Tim Chambers, the report aims to quantify the impact of restrictions imposed by U.K. lawmakers to curb the spread of COVID-19. It projects that 64% of the music industry’s 262,000 workers will lose their jobs by Christmas. The figure includes contract workers as well as employees, the latter of whom reportedly account for 52,200 of the total.
A comparatively paltry 10,000 full-time (or equivalent) music jobs have been saved so far by relief packages introduced by lawmakers. This week, Arts Council England distributed a second round of Culture Recovery Fund grants; the organization has paid out £334,000 to cultural institutions thus far. They subsequently reopened their Developing Creative Practice program, expanding their definition of “creative practitioner” to include DJs.
The LIVE report breaks down its estimates by music industry sector and offers other key statistics. It’s available in its entirety on the Concert Promoters Association website.
Image credit: Drew Patrick Miller
