Touring and live events industr y in crisis
TOUR manager Mick Brown, a selfemployed production manager, stage manager, sound engineer and backline tech led a pretty full-on life, but in March, like many in the entertainment industry, his livelihood ground to a halt overnight with the first lockdown. He spoke to N2 about life on the road, home in lockdown and beyond coronavirus.
Mick wasn’t actually on a tour when lockdown started, but the work he did have lined up has gone away and he has no idea when it may come back.
“I am used to a slow start sometimes at the start of the year, but this has been an unprecedented lack of work for me. It doesn’t look like we will return to live events soon.
“Financially, this is very, very difficult. I have savings meant for my retirement, but they will only last so long. I have tried to use this time to catch up with people I haven’t spoken to for a while.” But what Mick really needs is to get back on the road. He says it’s hard to say what his plans will be after lockdown, but he knows “diversifying is key. Driving will my most likely job I think. “It is going to take a while to get the live scene back up and running.” n In August The Watermill joined more than 300 venues across the country in the #Red Alert industry day of action, turning their lights red to highlight the crisis the live events sector faces and the threat of job losses. And West Berkshire-based Moonraker Disco, in solidarity with thousands of other events companies and suppliers across the UK, lit Donnington Castle red, as part of #WeMakeEvents associated under PLASA (the Professional Light and Sound Association), the membership body for those who supply technologies and services to the event and entertainment industries. Virtually all venues have been closed since
March no indication as to when they might return. The industry reported that more than a million professionals are at risk of losing their jobs without additional financial support from the Government.
On September 30, Newbury’s arts and leisure venues, including the Corn Exchange, lit up red again as part of a day of global action organised under the #WeMakeEvents banner, to raise awareness and attempt to drive change. Arlington Arts lit up red again on March 16 in support of the live events industry’s Light it in Red campaign. It was showing solidarity for those who work or have worked in this hard-hit sector, as many businesses are on the
brink of collapse.
It marked a year to the day that theatres went dark due to Government restrictions.