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By the time you read this, you may have enjoyed your first pub pint for over three months and finally had a proper haircut. But you still won’t have had the chance to see any live music.

That’s because, while most businesses in England are inching back towards normality after the coronavirus crisis, there’s still no plan in place for live entertainment to resume. More to the point,

there’s still no sign of support from the government for an industry that was first to shut down and will almost certainly be last to return.

The #LetTheMusicPlay campaign that launched last week saw a legion of big names pile pressure on the government to provide financial support to the devastated festival and concert sector, as it has for countless other ailing industries.

The trouble is, while UK governments like the cachet and revenues that our world-beating music scene brings, they’re usually less keen on backing it with hard cash. Equally, the music biz is usually reluctant to ask for government help, which tells you just how bad things are in the live sector right now.

Because really, this isn’t about the Ed Sheerans or Liam Gallaghers. Outside of the biggest names, there were few guaranteed paydays for promoters, agents, venues and the rest of the live music ecosystem, even before lockdown. Putting on gigs remains a high-risk, low-margin business at the best of times – and these are assuredly not the best of times.

The huge TV audience for the BBC’s virtual Glastonbury, and even the illegal raves popping up all over the UK, show that the public’s demand for communal music experiences remains undimmed by Covid-19. And the invention shown through livestreams and drive-in gigs indicates the biz will adapt and deliver, given half a chance.

That’s why the government needs to put its money where its mouth is, and back the sector with both a financial support package and also a clear roadmap back to a functioning business.

Because, unlike your hair after a dodgy DIY crop, the live sector won’t just grow back of its own accord when all this is over.

Mark Sutherland, editor mark.sutherland@futurenet.com

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