Disappointing and unjustified guidance on leisure-time music issued by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Making Music, the membership organisation representing over 200,000 musicians and promoters has called the UK Governments latest guidance on the potential resumption of leisure-time activities issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as "disappointing and unjustified".
Re-open
It urges the Government to "…permit groups with non-professional participants to re-open for rehearsals in line with the guidance issued to professionals as soon as possible."
It comes in a statement issued through its Chief Executive Barbara Eifler, addressing the guidance to cover the first three stages of the DCMS 'road map' to the re-opening of the performing arts.
Extremely disappointing
In it Making Music states: "…the guidance is extremely disappointing for the UK's 900,000 hobby musicians, playing and singing in 16,000 music groups.
Groups include choral societies, community choirs, amateur orchestras, brass bands, jazz ensembles, ukulele groups, handbell ringers, folk ensembles, wind bands, and more.
In England, groups with non-professional participants remain completely excluded from rehearsing if they sing or play wind or brass instruments; and can only meet in groups, as permitted generally, where other instruments are concerned. The other countries of the UK have as yet to publish specific guidance, expected shortly."
Unclear
It goes on: "The distinction between professionals and non-professionals is not justified in the guidance and it is entirely unclear why such a distinction should be made.
An assumption that leisure-time music groups are not able to manage risks in the same way that professional groups are would be inaccurate, as would be the calculation that the economic impact of leisure-time music is not crucial to the recovery of the music sector as a whole."
The statement says that the leisure-time sector spends £86.4m annually on professional musicians, and "… is thus essential to a sustainable freelance work portfolio."
Making Music highlights that it spends £6.4m per year with music publishers and in their opinion, "...supports the sustainability of venues of all kinds, from community buildings and schools to places of worship, dedicated and non-dedicated arts venues of all sizes, from the smallest arts centre to Sage Gateshead, with their hire of space for the purposes of rehearsals and performance."
It urges the Government to "...permit groups with non-professional participants to re-open for rehearsals in line with the guidance issued to professionals as soon as possible."4BR
Ecology
It concluded: "Leisure-time music is part of the ecology of the music sector which cannot return to full health, unless all parts of it are allowed to re-open.
Leisure-time music groups also provide a crucial social function and are thus central to the recovery of the nation from the ravages to its mental health through the pandemic.
Preventing groups from meeting will only exacerbate pressure on health and social care in the coming months, as more and more adults seek help with the consequences of isolation."
Further information:
https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/news/disappointing-performing-arts-return-guidance
