August 3, 2020

Last week, MPG representatives spoke at a roundtable with the Creative Industries minister, Caroline Dinenage MP. In a follow-up letter they called for the minister to ensure that some of the Government’s 1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund is made available to recording and rehearsal studios, which closed to protect public health during the pandemic, but which have been excluded from the retail and hospitality grant schemes.

MPG explains that studios have already begun to close their doors, with the legendary Sawmills studio up for sale, and the newly established Piano Rooms in London closing due to the effects of Covid. The majority of studios have been turned down for discretionary grants and business rates relief by their local authorities, including Dean Street Studios in Soho, and Le Mob Studio in Hammersmith and Fulham.

MPG summarises the letter, which states that 40% of recording studios face closure within three months without further support. The letter also makes the case that support for studios will help the wider economy, as music studios are now able to operate under safety guidelines developed by the MPG and others.

The letter is also signed by record label trade bodies BPI and AIM, as well as by PRS for Music and the Featured Artists Collective. To read MPG’s news release and for a link to the letter, click here.