Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty ImagesMuse, Coldplay and Radiohead are are among the 1,500 people and groups who've signed a letter asking the U.K. government to support the live music industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter, addressed to the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, was signed by artists who would otherwise have been performing at festivals this summer.
Others signing on to the campaign include The Rolling Stones, Liam Gallagher, Bastille, Noel Gallagher, Blur, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Foals, Rag'n'Bone Man, Florence + the Machine, Mumford & Sons, Iron Maiden, The 1975, Snow Patrol, Bring Me the Horizon, The xx, Prodigy, George Ezra, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, Johnny Marr, Alt-J, Queens of the Stone Age, Biffy Clyro, The Cure, and Glass Animals, as well as crew members and venues.
"Live music has been one of the U.K.'s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade," reads the letter. "But with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak."
According to the campaign, the U.K live music scene supports "210,000 jobs across the country," and adds billions to the economy.
The secretary responded on Twitter, "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."
For the full letter and list of artists who signed, visit ConcertPromotersAssociation.co.uk.
By Andrea Dresdale
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