Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce call for vital support for the sector.

Operators within the Scottish commercial music industry have announced the creation of a task force to support the music sectors needs.

The Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce is a collective collective voice for a vital sector of Scotland’s culture. Formed out of concern that there is a lack of support or understanding of this sector’s need, businesses from across the country have come together to present a united request to the Scottish Government to act urgently and provide vital support for the music industry.

The Taskforce submitted a letter to Scottish government signed by artists, festivals, venues and more including Belladrum Festival, Biffy Clyro, Deacon Blue, Eddi Reader, KT Tunstall, Mogwai, Primal Scream, Riverside Festival, Scottish Event Campus, Simple Minds, Skye Live, swg3, Texas, The Proclaimers, TRNSMT festival and more.

Specifically writing to Fiona Hyslop, as the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture the Taskforce is asking for support for commercial music businesses, who have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through no fault of their own.

Welcoming the recent announcements of a £97 million investment for cultural, arts and heritage institutions as well as the Scottish Government’s £10 million package for performing arts venues, the Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce now calls on the Scottish Government to ensure the industry is given the essential support it desperately needs to survive.

Read the letter below:

6th July 2020

Dear Cabinet Secretary,

The Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce has recently been established by commercial music businesses in response to Covid 19 as a collective voice for the sector in Scotland. It encompasses all subsectors of the music industry in Scotland from agents and managers, promoters and festivals to music venues and production companies. Founding members include DF Concerts, Regular Music, Active Events, Craft Management, A Modern Way Management, Ironworks Venue, Asgard, ATC Live and Fly Events. The Taskforce also includes the Scottish Music Industry Association and has its full support.

The Taskforce welcomes the Scottish Government’s £10M package for performing arts venues and the UK Government’s £1.57B investment for cultural, arts and heritage institutions. We write with a specific request for support for commercial music businesses who are on their knees through no fault of their own.

The first meeting of the group identified the following serious issues:

Scottish music businesses are still falling through the gaps of existing UK and Scottish Government schemes. These businesses encompass the most experienced in our industry and are at imminent risk of closure or at least will need to let experienced staff go. This risks the loss of critical infrastructure, knowledge and skills which will significantly limit our ability to recover and continue to provide career development pathways for Scottish artists.

There has been a lack of consultation with the commercial music sector on its needs. For example the announcement on Friday 3 July of a £10M rescue package for performing arts venues is very welcome but the group note that it is unclear if it will benefit commercial music venues.

Funding schemes administered by Creative Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise do not prioritise the activities of the Scottish commercial music sector. While the commercial music sector has never collectively asked for support, the list of signatories to this letter evidences the sector forms a critical part of our cultural infrastructure offering resilience, contributing towards local economies and cultural tourism which in turn benefits the wider Scottish economy.

To support the Scottish music industry to survive and thrive we urge the Scottish Government to:

Establish a Culture & Creative Industries Infrastructure Fund with the £97M from the UK Government and ensure Scottish commercial music businesses can access this to support survival and promote recovery.

Consult and work in partnership with the Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce to ensure support for arts and culture takes into account the needs of the commercial music sector including how funding being made available is administered.

Provide a clear, conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing and press the UK Government to deliver a full VAT exemption on ticket sales and review the need for further business and employment support in the future should live music have to remain suspended beyond six months.

Fulfil the Music Venue Trust and the Scottish members of the Music Venues Alliance’s request for specific funding for GMVs.

We recognise and welcome the additional targeted measures that the Scottish Government has taken to address gaps in UK schemes to protect Scotland’s arts and culture sector. However, the Scottish commercial music industry has unique needs and operates within different parameters from the not for profit / subsidised sector and we urge you to address these as a matter of priority and before it is too late

Taskforce members

Founding members of the Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce include DF Concerts, Regular Music, Active Events, Craft Management, A Modern Way Management, Ironworks Venue, Asgard, ATC Live, Sneaky Petes and Fly Events. The Taskforce also includes the Scottish Music Industry Association and has its full support. Artists including Biffy Clyro, Deacon Blue, Del Amitri, Eddi Reader, Kathryn Joseph, KT Tunstall, Mogwai, Primal Scream, Simple Minds, SLAM, Teenage Fanclub, Texas, The Proclaimers, The Twilight Sad and more have signed their name to the letter. Festivals, labels, booking agencies, management companies as well as studios and venues have also signed including; Adlib Audio, Belladrum Festival, Edinburgh and Glasgow Summer Sessions, Edinburgh Corn Exchange, G4S, Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, HebCelt Festival, Kingdom Management, Music Venues Alliance, PCL Presents, Riverside Festival, Scottish Event Campus, Showtec, Skye Live Festival, SOMA Recordings Ltd, Sub Club, SWG3 Traditional Music Forum, Ticketmaster Scotland, TRNSMT Festival.

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