Hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line right now and the UK music industry added £4.5 billion to the economy in 2019. With no idea how long this pandemic is going to continue, the music industry is up in the air with no guarantee that venues are going to remain open, festivals can continue and the lives of those working in the industry are going to look so bright.

Thanks to COVID-19 things suck! All of the uncertainty is really affecting the music industry and there are lots of ways that we can help. It may seem like we are absolutely useless in this fight but without the fans, there would be no albums, concerts and festivals so why should that change? With our help, the music industry can make it through this pandemic.

I've compiled a list of ways in which you can contribute to raising awareness and fighting for the music industry.

The #LetTheMusicPlay campaign was recently launched by The Concert Promotors Association and a variety of live music businesses and artists. 

At the heart of this campaign is an open letter to the Sectary of State calling for clarification of when the UK music industry can get up and running again. There has been discussions of pubs and sport in the recent news but no mention of what will be happening to live music in the relaxation of the lockdown. 

This letter has been signed by SO MANY people in the industry including Little Mix, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones, Noel Gallagher, Coldplay, Lewis Capaldi and more. 

You can read the open letter and find out who has signed it here.

Make people aware of the situation. Share more information about how much impact the UK music industry is facing. The #LetTheMusicPlay campaign has created several infographics that you can download and share to Facebook, on your Instagram stories and post on Twitter.

Utilise them and share them to your platforms along with how other people can help! 

You can find the infographics here.

Spotify is known for not paying music artists enough and I yet I am still guilty for using the platform! Something I do pride myself in though is that I love to buy physical music. There's nothing better than owning a CD, vinyl or cassette tape. 

Rather than streaming your favourite music, buy the artists/bands album directly from their website. You can also buy their merchandise which is always really cool to own! Don't just buy it for yourself either: physical forms of music make great gifts! I think I've purchased three different vinyls for my sister's birthday and I can guarantee you that she'll get another three for Christmas too.

You bet I have all of these albums on CD. You can actually buy digital music from some artists online stores! I've just also been looking at their merch and Lizzo's is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

Some local venues are hosting fundraisers to be able to stay open. Look out on social media for opportunities to buy t-shirts, donate, buy tickets to online events and lots more!

In Leicester, we have some local music venues that I genuinely love so so much such as The Cookie. They're an independent venue and have created a t-shirt which they are hoping to sell in order to gather some funds to stay open. Take my money!

Look out for other independent stores while you're at it too! It's not just the music industry that is struggling in this time. Cool As Leicester has created a great initiative where graphic designers have designed t-shirts for independent business. Every profit from a sale goes back into the independent business. You can find out more about the initiative here. 

You can browse the Leicester Aid Merch here. There are some brilliant designs and I don't think you need to live in Leicester to love them!

If you can't make the re-scheduled date than that's fine! But if you ask for a refund from a venue or concert promotor you are essentially taking money away from the business. It's completely understandable if you have concerns about never getting your money back even if the event is cancelled but don't take the steps to ask for a refund unless you think it is absolutely necessary.

You never know what is around the corner and live music events could be back on in the next few months - it may even be a couple of years away! Things are changing so quickly: who knew Leicester was going to go into a Lockdown in early June? I probably couldn't have guessed it!

Keep purchasing tickets for events that you want to go to! If things get worse, the event will most likely get re-scheduled not cancelled. 

I also did just buy tickets to see 5 Seconds of Summer in April next year and I do not regret it one little bit. They were one of my favourite bands growing up and I was not going to pass up on the opportunity to see them live again!

If you're feeling generous, you can donate to organisations aiming to help the music industry! Spotify has a COVID-19 Music Relief Fund page where you can donate to lots of worldwide organisations. The aim is to amplify the efforts to relive the music industry.

The best part? Spotify are matching all donations up to a collective of $10 million!

Please have a look through some of the organisations and donate where you can. You can find out more information here.

 

Let me know what your favourite artists are and what you're doing to help the music industry!