One in five musicians may not return to their career, research finds

One in five musicians (19%) fear they will have to abandon their career due to the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis, according to new research among nearly 1,500 members of the Musicians’ Union.

38% of respondents - the majority of whom are self-employed – have reported being ineligible for Government financial assistance schemes, but even those who do qualify are struggling to make ends meet. A quarter (26%) said they will struggle to survive financially in the interim period before they receive payments.

The Union is urgently calling on the Government to plug key gaps in current support for self-employed workers and demanding more substantial support to help everyone affected.

The musicians who fail to qualify for the support being offered to others include:

• Those who are part self-employed, with freelance earnings that are less than half of their total income
• Those who have been self-employed for less than a year
• Those who pay themselves salary and dividends through a personal service company
• Those with annual taxable income worth over £50,000

The Union is urging the government to make the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) available to musicians who are part self-employed, and to remove the £50,000 cap. It is also speaking up for musicians who have taken time out for maternity leave in recent years, which is not being taken into account when calculating payments from the SEISS.

Horace Trubridge, General Secretary of the Musicians’ Union said: “In Germany, the total package for the arts is worth £46.3billion, with the Government also promising financial support to micro businesses of up to five employees. Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have all announced funds and aid packages for the sector. We are calling on our Government to take action by reassessing its SEISS package and considering how else it can help a sector that is so vital to our national community.”