The observation is very dark.
A study of 2,000 members of a British musicians 'union, the Musicians' Union, concluded that 34% "are
considering leaving this profession for good
".
They cite the financial difficulties they are facing, the health crisis having reduced their possibilities to perform and therefore to live from this profession.
Almost half of those polled have already found work outside of music.
70% are unable to do more than a quarter of their usual work.
87% of musicians on short-time working and the self-employment income support scheme say they will face financial difficulties in October, when the aid ends.
"
Musicians work in supermarkets, deliver deliveries, return to activities for which they were originally trained,
"
Horace Trubridge, general secretary of the union
, told the
Guardian
.
They do a bit of everything except music.
Therein lies the problem
”.
Read also: Coronavirus: no return to normal in theaters before November in the United Kingdom
Horace Trubridge believes the British government is guilty of this situation.
According to him, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport failed in the distribution of aid of 1.57 billion pounds (1.74 billion euros).
For the cultural sector specifically, the bulk of the 1.15 billion pounds was donated to English cultural institutions and would only have benefited very marginally to independent artists.
Fewer audiences, fewer concerts, the vicious circle
According to Horace Trubridge, “
nothing has been done for the workforce
”.
“
It takes creators to create art.
But it takes very skilled and talented musicians to get that creativity.
And these are the people who were left out of the equation,
”he laments.
To remedy this situation, Musicians' Union suggests creating a “
2 for 1
” program, in which the government would cover the cost of a second seat at concerts.
What cushion the shortfall due to these seats left empty to ensure social distancing.
Read also: United Kingdom: a "curfew" at 10pm for pubs, bars and restaurants
This line of thought is not enough to reassure Horace Trubridge.
If the concert venues have been authorized to reopen, the concerts are significantly less numerous than at the beginning of the year.
“
We would like to have a date to move to step five on the roadmap, with indoor concerts without social distancing.
But this horizon seems very distant, given the current evolution of the pandemic,
”worries the president of Musicians' Union.
The most bereaved country in Europe with nearly 42,000 dead, the United Kingdom is currently seeing the number of contaminations double every seven days.
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