April 27, 2020

IFPI has published a letter to which it is a signatory in which the music sector calls for EU and national investment to address the pandemic crisis and promote diversity. The letter states that music is “one of the first sectors hit by the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. It will also be one of the last”.

Due to the closure of venues and festivals, the cancellation of performances, new releases being put on hold and group activities suspended, “the entire creative value chain is stalling”, the letter states. “Artists and their management, performers, composers, songwriters, music educators, conductors, booking agents, record shops, labels, publishers, distributors, promoters, manufacturers, technicians, events managers and event staff count among the many actors of the ecosystem whose livelihoods are on the line.”

According to the letter, these risks will persist, even after the public health emergency is solved. “The stark reality is that profound harm will be felt long into 2021 due to how the music ecosystem operates.”

In light of this “dire situation”, the signatories call for emergency as well as sustainable public support and structural policies at EU, national, regional and local level to consolidate the music ecosystem, and help it thrive again in all its diversity.

The signatories urge Member States and the European Commission to “take a stance and significantly increase the national and EU budgets dedicated to culture, and within that to music”. They also say that, under the EU Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative, it is “imperative that each Member State provides Europe’s creative sector with swift and comprehensive access to Structural Funds in order to offset the harm in the shorter term”. In the view of the signatories, the “full magnitude of the current turmoil will build for months and the number of casualties will be high”.

The letter also states that the recovery will be slow. There will be fewer job opportunities, less participation in music and less room for artistic risk-taking.

The letter recalls that music is being used to promote solidarity during the crisis, with artists and DJs streaming live performances from their own homes in order to engage communities, and citizens from across Europe gathering on their balconies to play music and regain a shared sense of common purpose.

Music is therefore “a vehicle to recreate a sense of community”, the letter states. “In times of containment and pressure, music builds bridges between individuals and cultures irrespective of social, ethnic, cultural backgrounds”.

The letter ends by saying that music and culture are “essential to offer citizens the renewed social and cultural bond that Europe will sorely need”, and asks decision makers to recognise culture as “a priority sector”. To read the letter in full, click here.