Recently the #LetUsDance campaign came online to address the dire situation that the UK nightlife industry has found itself in as a result of COVID-19. With a fund of £1.57 billion being made available to the live entertainment industry in the UK it has not been confirmed if this amount of money will be made available to the UK dance music community.
Organised by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) this campaign has struck a serious chord with the thousands of, “fans, workers, venues, artists, promoters, festivals, publishers and all other associated businesses and organisations involved in the dance music industry” and while the news of the UK Government fund came as welcome news this campaign is designed in order to ensure fair access to the fund is made available.
We reported recently that indoor live music events would return to England in August it has been decided that nightclubs would remain closed and in turn could sacrifice the venues that help to produce the £66 billion in revenue that is generated each year. The second arm of this campaign is requesting that each supporter uses the initiative to reach out to their MP representative to request support for their local scene. This support garnered from contacting MP’s will be invaluable in order to get access to these much-needed funds.
In a slight twist to the before-mentioned campaign the UK Government has made £2.25 million in emergency grants available to English music venues that have a significant live music programme. The grants will be made available to venues across all music genres and with the #LetUsDance and other campaigns being supported by all corners of the dance music community these funds could mean the difference between clubs remaining open during these tough times. Applications will remain open until midday on Monday, August 3rd with successful candidates being notified by 6pm on Monday, August 10th.
