(Renfrewshire South)
(SNP):...Another sector on which
I wish to say a few words is one that is very close to me: the
music sector. I declare an interest in that I am a member of
the Musicians’ Union and I was previously active in
music. As one individual in the sector put it to me, it is an
extinction-level event. I am not talking about headline acts that
play at the Hydro, Murrayfield or Hampden park. I am talking about
the countless grass-roots music venues and Musicians who operate across Scotland week
in, week out.
It is an incredibly complex and
fragile ecosystem. Grass-roots music venues are not profitable in
strictly financial terms, but in cultural terms they make an
enormous contribution. They are the incubators and the talent
pipeline and, as things stand, they face very little prospect of
recovery. Theirs will be among the last sectors that can reopen,
and they will perhaps not be able to return to their previous
capacities and output until we have a vaccine or effective
treatment. There must be sector-specific support, because we
cannot lose them.
An area that I was very much involved
in is music for weddings and corporate entertainment. In the
public imagination, there might be the idea of a wedding band
being four middle-aged males with thinning hair, playing music
poorly, but the majority of people who play in wedding bands are
highly talented and skilled professional Musicians. Playing weddings, corporate events
and functions provides those Musicianswith the bread and butter income that
allows them to engage in other projects, whether that is
recording their own material and performing in the United States,
performing as session Musicians and playing in touring bands,
or running community choirs that greatly enrich their local
communities. Without that bread and butter income, they will not
be able to do those other activities.
A recent Musicians’ Union survey shows that up to one
in five Musicians is now considering chucking
music as a result of Covid-19, so they need specific support.
Although some sectors might be able to return to normality, that
will not be the case for Musicians, as it will not be the case for many
others operating in the leisure sector. There has to be continued
support from the Scottish Government and the UK Government until
such time as we are able to return to full capacity and
those Musicians can play at weddings, private
parties, corporate functions and pubs. If we fail to provide that
support, we will lose more than just a few jobs. We will lose a
part of our cultural identity, and that is a consequence of the
Covid crisis that none of us can tolerate...
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