PSA: THE BIGGER PICTURE
A ROADMAP TO NOWHERE Following the success of the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign, PSA’s Andy Lenthall implores the UK Government to respond to the urgent situation the live events industry finds itself in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I’m having a party, here’s a map, see you there. That’s what people seemed to see when Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden’s cultural return roadmap solution dropped at midnight recently with no fixed date. He must have been quite pleased because we were already at stage two out of five; I get the same feeling when I start my to do list with ‘write to do list’; task one complete, time for a well-deserved brew. Cue the Music Venues Trust’s stunningly simple, cuttingly on-point suggestion which was something along the lines of supporting the sector until we’re allowed to get back in full then get out of the way, let us do what we’re good at and reap the cultural and economic advantages. OK, let’s move to current actions. Sure, the road map might have been a shoddy attempt at appeasement, not so good after his dream dinner party list of people he’s met once became a Cultural Renewal Task Force, but work has continued apace to develop guidance on how to actually return to live events. By the time we get to read this, the ‘Performing Arts’ guidance may have been given the green light so we can see just what will be required to actually get a performance on a stage. How that segues neatly
into outdoor event or standing/seated venue guidance will be fun to watch. BRING THE NOISE What isn’t fun to watch is the responses rolling in to impact assessments; when you see a supply chain that has, in the majority, four months of liquidity left and a workforce that is reliant on grant aid that will perhaps end long before a return to work. It’s the same across the whole events sector. One thing we all know by now is that live events will be the last sector that is fully allowed back to work. We say fully because, within our sector, the different strands will be back to fighting weight at different times. Every weekend is another outdoor show that won’t happen until next year, every travel restriction is an overseas artist that won’t be hopping on an aeroplane and every company that doesn’t want to be seen to be threatening another wave of infections is a cancelled corporate event. We’re in the business of gathering people together. At the time of writing, live music is about to launch a coordinated, collaborative campaign that 66
