Leading figures of the Scottish Commercial Music Industry Task Force have called on the Scottish Government to step up and act immediately to save the Scottish Music Industry.
In a letter to the Scottish Government the group sought parity with England & Wales in terms of the roadmap out of COVID and financial support.
Unlike England & Wales, the music industry in Scotland has no Government roadmap for re-opening and lacks any on-going sector specific financial support which is critical to sustaining the industry in Scotland.
The letter outlined the immediate threat to the Scottish economy in terms of both job losses and loss of income as well as what can be done by the Scottish Government to prevent this.
Donald Macleod, SCMIT member and Founder, Hold Fast Ents/CPL said:-
We are now witnessing the avoidable demise of the Scottish Music Industry. The jobs and talent we are losing will cause irreparable damage to our industry. Music is not just of economic importance to Scotland but is also of huge cultural and social significance and so the Scottish Government must act now. Today we are calling them to step up and provide a clear roadmap to re-opening that we can collectively follow and work toward, as is the case in England & Wales.”
The Scottish Commercial Music Industry Taskforce (SCMIT) was established by commercial music businesses in April 2020 to respond to Covid 19. It includes all subsectors of the music industry in Scotland from agents and managers, promoters and festivals, to music venues and production companies.