Lobbying Update: Government Must Invest in Musicians This Autumn

Parliament is now back after summer recess and the Prime Minister wasted no time in announcing an increase in national insurance for employed and self-employed workers alike.

For those freelancers and company directors who received no financial assistance whatsoever from the Government during the COVID-19 lockdowns, this increase, which comes into force from April 2022, will be a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

Although many musicians have seen increases in work over the summer, the picture varies greatly from nation to nation and there is anecdotal evidence that some freelancers are seeing reductions in work going into the Autumn.

The MU is therefore asking the Government to use the money that is left in the Cultural Recovery Fund to provide bridging loans and other investment for musicians.

In order to make this case we need to show that not all musicians have yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of work so please fill in this extremely short survey.