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Liam Gallagher has criticised the UK government for its lack of support for grassroots music venues during the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after the #LetTheMusicPlay initiative was launched this week, asking the government for a £50 million cash injection to ensure venues are able to survive while traditional live music isn’t able to be held.
Taking to Twitter, Gallagher shared an image being widely circulated this week, stating that the UK government bailed the Wetherspoons pub chain out with a grant of £48.3 million, while the entire music industry is asking for £50 million to stop its venues going out of business.
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) July 4, 2020
Earlier this week, the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign was co-signed by Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, The Rolling Stones, Coldplay and more, demanding immediate action to prevent “catastrophic damage” to the music industry in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
Last month, the Music Venue Trust shared a letter signed by over 560 of their venues calling for a £50million cash injection to save the “world-beating £5.2billion per year music industry,” and prevent the permanent closure of iconic small venues across the country.
It comes after it was revealed that 92% of festival businesses are also at risk of collapse during the pandemic, and are calling for government support to “make it to next year without being wiped out”.
Glastonbury Festival organiser Emily Eavis shared her support for the campaign, adding: “If the Government doesn’t step up and support the British arts, we could lose vital aspects of our culture forever.”
Primal Scream’s Simone Marie Butler wrote for NME this week on the importance of saving small venues. “The more of us that come together and unify, the greater the influence and opportunity there will be to instruct change,” she wrote. “Music can bring us together and create life changing moments. I believe this is one of those moments.”
Yesterday (July 3), the Scottish government launched a £10 million Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund to support performing arts venues in the country during the pandemic, also revealing that the government are “actively considering support for grassroots music venues”.
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