Iron Maiden, Enter Shikari And More Share Support For Let The Music Play Campaign

Over 1,500 artists have signed an open letter to the government as part of UK Music's #LetTheMusicPlay campaign, which asks for immediate action to aid the massively-impacted music industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As well as huge mainstream names like Radiohead, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay signing a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden calling for support, the likes of Iron Maiden, Enter Shikari and Bullet For My Valentine have taken to social media to also spread the word.

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"UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade," reads the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign. "But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for venues, concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.

"Like other countries such as Germany and Australia, we need the Government to help the music industry, which contributes £5.2 billion to the economy annually and sustains almost 200,000 jobs to ensure it remains world-leading following the damage caused by this pandemic.

"Until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry.

"On July 2, 2020, UK Music and members of the UK Live Music Group, alongside a coalition of live music businesses including artists, venues, concerts, festivals, production companies and industry figures launched a campaign, Let The Music Play, to highlight the importance of the sector to the UK’s economy."

As well as this letter being sent to Oliver Dowden as part of the campaign, music lovers are also encouraged to write to their local MP to ask them to call on the Chancellor to back #LetTheMusicPlay – which you can do right here.

Showing their support on Twitter, Iron Maiden write: "Every band has to start somewhere (in time), and Iron Maiden were no exception. 90% of the UK's grassroots music venues are under threat of closure due to COVID-19.

"Please show your support for live music and share a photo/video from the last gig you went to, tagging #LetTheMusicPlay"

"Today we come together with the rest of the UK music industry to show our support for #LetTheMusicPlay," say Bullet For My Valentine, "a campaign highlighting the crisis faced by the live music sector. We need the UK government to listen and act now to help protect venues that could be forced to close.

"As well as supporting the workforce that make up the industry. We encourage you to get involved by sharing a photo from your last gig using #LetTheMusicPlay to show your support for UK live music."

Meanwhile, Enter Shikari add: "Today, our friends at Music Venue Trust are asking artists to share a video of their last live show as part of their #LetTheMusicPlay #SaveOurVenues campaign.

"We would not have been able to do what we’ve done for the past decade+ if it wasn’t for the time we spent as teenagers playing a supportive circuit of grassroots music venues. But this isn’t about us going off around the world and having fun…

"UK music exports contribute £2billion+ to the UK economy. Over 90% of UK music venues are at risk of closure unless government steps in to support them through this time. You don’t need to be a rocket surgeon to see the devastating effect this could have.

"So, please, retweet them then tweet us a photo / video of the last show YOU went to, using the #LetTheMusicPlay tag. Show the government the support that UK venues have from the people that use them."

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