News

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Night Time Economy, a cross-party group of more than 40 MPs, has today published the findings of its recent inquiry into the impact of Covid which warns that the sector is at risk of ‘extinction’ unless the  Government takes urgent action. The MPs urge the Prime Minister and Chancellor to bring forward a sector-specific grant package and a detailed roadmap for reopening the sector to avoid ‘irreversible losses’ that would create ‘ghost towns’ across country and hinder the wider economic recovery.

The report, entitled ‘Covid-19 and UK Nightlife’, looked at the impact of the pandemic and Government support for businesses in the night time economy, including night clubs, bars, pubs, live music venues, festivals, and supply chain businesses. It involved a survey which received over 20,000 responses from consumers, employers, employees, and freelancers in the sector.

Key findings of the survey included:
*85 per cent of people working in the night time economy are considering leaving the industry
*78 per cent of all employees in the sector had at some point been on furlough
*Businesses in the night time economy had on average made 37 per cent of their total workforce redundant4
*In the second half of 2020, businesses in the night time economy traded at an average of 28 per cent of their annualised pre-Covid turnover5
*Only 36% self-employed nightlife workers have been able to claim the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). 
 
In addition, the report includes numerous detailed personal testimonies of those in the sector describing how the pandemic has affected them.

Outside of periods of forced closure, night time economy businesses have seen numerous and changing restrictions on their ability to trade, including curfews, social distancing measures like the ‘rule of six’, the loss of vertical drinking, and requirements for a ‘substantial meal’ with alcohol. Businesses have faced significant costs and investments in adapting to new conditions, and many, including a majority of nightclubs, have been unable to trade at all.

The inquiry examined written submissions from hundreds of businesses and local authorities, including the Greater London Authority and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, key trade bodies UK Hospitality and UK Music as well as the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).

The joint DCMS-BEIS submission recognised the importance of nightlife to the economy as a whole, noting that after the 2008 financial crisis the sector “helped drive the UK’s recovery more generally.” Despite this, the inquiry found that economic support for the night time economy had been “insufficient”, containing significant gaps.

​​​​​​​Jeff Smith MP, Chair of the APPG and a former self-employed DJ, warned that the prospect of many night time economy businesses going bust would leave town and city centres across the country looking like ‘ghost towns’, noting the important role these spaces play in local economies and communities.
 He commented:
“Our world-leading night clubs, pubs, bars, and live music venues are cornerstones of our communities. They drive so much economic activity both locally and nationally, and bring hope, joy and entertainment to millions across the UK. Our findings today reveal this industry is on its knees, in desperate need of additional support from the Government and a concrete plan for reopening. Without these interventions, many of these viable businesses will go under, leaving city and town centres resembling ghost towns. If the Government is serious about its ‘levelling up’ agenda it must act now to save this sector and avoid untold damage to the social fabric of this country.”

Some of the key recommendations for Government included in the report were:
*Extending the furlough scheme until businesses can operate without restrictions, and extending VAT and business rates relief through 2021
*Producing a roadmap for reopening late night venues based on the vaccination programme and mass testing
*Expanding eligibility for Government Grant Schemes and proving a sector-specific support package
*Providing a Government-backed insurance schemes and solutions to spiralling commercial rent arrears
*Introducing a Treasury-backed scheme to boost demand once restrictions are eased
*Appointing a UK Government Night Time Economy advisor
 
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, commented:
“We are pleased to support the APPG for the Night Time Economy when it became clear our industry’s needs weren’t being heard by policy makers. But it gives me no pleasure today to announce the findings of this report, which confirm the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on UK nightlife.
“Every day I speak with the dedicated people that make up this industry – from artists to engineers, bar staff to security, and production to promoters – they have shown great resilience in the face of adversity.
“But resilience only gets you so far without the required support. We need more assistance and a detailed plan for reopening now. Otherwise, much of what defines a night out in the UK will be lost forever.”

Link to the report: 

https://www.ntia.co.uk/appg/ 

Registration is now open for the Green Events & Innovations Conference 2021, and this time it's virtual.

The 13th edition of the essential conference for sustainability in events will take place online on Tuesday 2 March 2021.

The Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI) is presented by AGF in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). The event welcomes industry leaders, professionals, visionaries, governments and all individuals and organisations working to bring environmental and social sustainability to the live events, sports and creative sectors.

GEI13 will address the role and responsibility of the events  and creative industries in tackling the challenges of our transport; food systems; equality and inclusivity; health and wellbeing; power systems; design; and materials usage for circularity and more. Join us in March from the comfort of your own chair, to connect, collaborate and advance this important work, with crucial discussions and ample opportunity for networking with the international events sector and sustainability specialists.

Claire O'Neill, AGF Co Founder and GEI Producer said "We're really happy to be launching this edition of GEI, be it online. We've seen the determination and commitment from all parts of the events industry during this difficult year, to keep the eye on the ball and come together for sustainability, despite the financial hardships we all face."

The number 13 is associated with upheaval and destruction, and so it is extremely poignant that the 13th edition of GEI will be held digitally owing to a zoonotic pandemic. What comes from destruction is renewal, strength and change. This is the crossroads where our society stands today. GEI13 will therefore be honouring the theme of transition and transformation, as we reflect on what we have lost, what we still need to let go of, and how we can be both receptive and active to co-create a better future.

Some of the first confirmed speakers include Dale Vince, (Ecotricity, UK), David Ojay (Naam Festival, KE), Tom Schroeder, Paradigm Agency (UK), Gina Perier, Lapee (DK), Gordon Masson, IQ Magazine/ILMC (UK) and Claire O’Neill, AGF (UK).

The event is now on sale via Ticketsellers, with limited launch price tickets available while they last.

Like most in this industry, DRJ Crew DRJ Supplies have diversified during this unprecedented time, therefore they have set up DRJ Supplies - www.drj-supplies.com . 

They are currently stocking PPE and only sell medical grade wares.  Hopefully in future, we can diversify the supplies business yet again and supply consumables but for now, they are focusing on trying to get everyone COVID secure so we can get back to what we love best - events!

Using the code PSA10 will entitle members to a 10% discount on their first order. 

Whilst we appreciate, we don't have many gigs as an industry at the minute, people still need it for their office spaces and their virtual studios to be COVID secure.

Over 100 iconic prints of world-renowned music artists taken by globally celebrated photographers including Rankin, Tony McGee and Jill Furmanovsky are now on sale. 

Available for £95 each, the sale represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of music history, with many of the prints usually unavailable to buy. 100% of proceeds go to Stagehand - the only UK charity specifically dedicated to providing hardship funding for live music crews who have fallen on tough times.

Available from today for a limited four-week period, expect a mix of established photography names, from Gerry Mankovitz and Pooneh Ghana to Adrian Boot and Ki Pharaoh. The eclectic range of artists represented in the photographs include David Bowie, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Marley, Mick Jagger, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Marina Diamandis, The Streets, Florence and the Machine, Liam Gallagher, Jonny Greenwood, Beth Ditto, Tina Turner, Brett Anderson, Alice Cooper, Sting, Stormzy, Kate Nash... to name just a few.

Stagehand was launched over two decades ago and is the only UK charity specifically dedicated to providing hardship funding for music stage crew who have fallen on tough times.

Mike Lowe, Chair of Stagehand’s Board of Trustees, comments: “The livelihoods of people working in live music productions has been decimated by the effects of Covid-19.  Every day we hear from people who are struggling and Stagehand is raising funds to help those in most need, with the simple aim of helping to keep roofs over heads and food on tables.”

All photographs are on sale at Prints For Music (www.printsformusic.com) and each A3 (420mm x 292mm) print is priced at £95, plus shipping options worldwide. All proceeds of the sale will go to the charity. The launch of Prints For Music for Stagehand was organised by leading photographer Ed Robinson who is also selling some of his prints to raise funds. 

Ed comments: “Like so many others, the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected me deeply on a personal level as well as professionally. I have reached out to the people I know in the music and photographic industries with the simple idea to try to help those who are not getting the support they need to survive this crisis. For many photographers who have been privileged enough to have been given access to photograph these artists, it has only been made possible by the efforts of their production teams. None of these photographs would have been possible without the artists and those who support them. This initiative is our way of giving back in their time of need. It will help preserve their livelihoods and enable the shows to go on in the future.”  

The sale is open on www.printsformusic.com until 21st December 2020.

Guidance has just been released on accessing the £1.1bn of funding to Local Authorities to support businesses during lockdown and ay subsequent local restrictions. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-restrictions-support-grants-lrsg-and-additional-restrictions-grant-arg-guidance-for-local-authorities

The guidance specifically refers to the events sector and suppliers in areas in Tier 3 measures, so well worth a look in advance of any changes in December.

Statistics released today show that Great Britain is still one of the safest places in the world to work with the lowest number of deaths on record.

However, more than half of Britain’s working days lost in 2019/20 were due to mental ill-health.

The annual report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) includes statistics for work-related ill health, workplace injuries, working days lost, enforcement action taken, and the associated costs to Great Britain.

The emergence of COVID-19 as a national health issue at the end of final quarter of 2019/20 does not appear to be the main driver of changes seen in the 2019/20 data, although it is possible that COVID-19 may be a contributory factor.

HSE has been at the heart of work across government for getting Great Britain’s workplaces Covid Secure. As part of HSE’s response to COVID-19, it has continued to support the wider health response through working closely with National Public Health Bodies, Local Authorities and local health teams.

Figures show that around 693,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries in 2019/2020 and 1.6 million workers suffering from work-related ill-health.

The statistics, compiled from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and other sources, illustrate that in Great Britain in the 2019/2020 period there were;

• 111 fatal injuries at work
• 1.6 million working people suffering from a work-related illness
• 38.8 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury
• 325 cases were prosecuted and resulted in a conviction. Fines from convictions totalled £35.8 million

In 2019/2020, the estimated economic cost to Great Britain totalled £16.2 billion with 38.8 million working days lost.

In response to the report, Sarah Newton, HSE Chair said:

“The Covid pandemic has focussed attention on the health and safety issues people face in the workplace. HSE remains committed to taking action where workers are not protected, to ensure the guidance and assistance we provide for employers in managing risks is the best available, based on the latest evidence and science.

“Although Great Britain continues to be up there with the safest places in the world to work, these figures highlight the scale of the challenge HSE currently faces in making Britain an even healthier and safer place to work, this includes our role in the response to the pandemic to ensure workplaces are Covid Secure.

“We must continue to drive home the importance of managing risk and promoting behaviours to ensure employers work right so that workers are able to go home healthy and safe at the end of each day.”

The full annual injury and ill-health statistics report can be found on HSE’s website.

Taskforce will help us move towards safer, smoother international travel.

A new Global Travel Taskforce to support the travel industry and the safe recovery of international travel has been launched by the government today (7 October 2020).

The Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care have been working extensively with clinicians, health experts and the private testing sector on the practicalities of testing international arrivals.

The next step is to develop an operationalised approach, which is why the government is creating the Global Travel Taskforce to work at pace with industry on implementation and to identify options to reduce the self-isolation period while protecting public health.

The taskforce will accelerate work to inform proposals on a future testing regime and develop options for how this could be introduced.

This will include looking at the feasibility of proposals based on a single test taken after a period of self-isolation, provided by the private sector and at the cost of the passenger. The taskforce will work with medical experts to better understand when a test should be taken based on the progression of the disease. The taskforce will also work closely with the private testing sector to ensure that testing for international arrivals does not impact on NHS capacity.

It will also explore alternative testing models, including pilots with partner countries to ascertain whether self-isolation could be undertaken pre-departure.

The taskforce, which will be jointly chaired by the Secretaries of State for Transport and Health and Social Care, will also consider other options to boost safe and sustainable tourism and business travel, supporting the sector in its recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

The current measures at the border have saved lives. Our understanding of the science now means we can intensify efforts to develop options for a testing regime and help reinvigorate our world-leading travel sector.

This new taskforce will not only help us move towards safer, smoother international travel as we continue to battle this virus but will also support global connectivity – helping facilitate more covid secure travel whilst protecting the population from imported cases.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

It is vital we do everything we can to control the spread of the virus and our measures at the borders are designed to help keep the country safe, by preventing imported cases of COVID-19.

We know how these measures have a significant impact on people’s lives and on the travel and tourism industries, so we are working hard across government to explore ways to open up international travel in a safe way.

The group will consult closely with partners from the aviation, travel, healthcare and testing sectors as well as the devolved administrations to implement measures to support the recovery of the travel sector. The taskforce is expected to put forward their initial recommendations next month.

The taskforce will consider:

• how a testing regime for international arrivals could be implemented to boost safe travel to and from the UK
• what steps can be taken to facilitate business and tourist travel through innovative testing models and other non-testing means
• more broadly, what steps can be taken to increase consumer confidence to support the recovery of international travel

The current rules around the 14-day self-isolation policy remain in place.

The DCMS Committee is urging the government to take immediate action to enable the cultural and sporting sectors to recover from the impact of Covid-19. It is calling on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to use the pause created by the latest Covid-19 restrictions to implement a number of recommendations that would enable venues and stadiums to plan a return of audiences to capacity when it is safe to do so.

Many theatres and venues have been unable to reopen because the requirements of social distancing for audiences have made it financially unviable to do so, with more closures of arts venues and organisations expected. Theatre producer and composer Llord Lloyd-Webber has spoken of the arts sector having reached “a point of no return.”

The Committee has warned that a sector which contributed £32.3 billion to the UK economy in 2018 is facing mass redunancies without an extension to the job retention scheme for the arts and leisure sectors.

DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said:

“We recognise that rising cases of Covid-19 mean that plans for a limited return of crowds to sporting events have to be put on hold.

“However this has created an opportunity for ministers to develop a robust strategy that will allow for the safe return of audiences to events – particularly in our theatres and performance venues - when the time is right.

“We know that without the ability to get in audiences in greater numbers, many theatres simply can’t afford to keep running. The collapse of such vital pillars in our cultural landscape would be devastating.

“That’s why I plan to urge the government today in the House of Commons to acknowledge the dire prospects facing this sector and commit to its support, firstly by acknowledging the specific recommendations made by this Committee and secondly by providing sector-specific funding to allow them to be implemented.”

The Featured Artist Coalition (FAC), the UK artist trade body, is delighted to announce that its 2020 Annual General Meeting is taking place at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday 14th October 2020. This year’s AGM will be hosted online, due to continuing Covid-19 restrictions, and we are expecting an insightful evening as we look back at an unprecedented year in music.