Music ‘one of the last sectors to recover’

A third of professional musicians were still earning nothing from music after the pandemic, according to a charity study.

The music industry was proving to be one of the last sectors to recover from the pandemic, with 83% of professional musicians unable to return to regular work.

Research conducted by the independent charity Help Musicians on nearly 1,000 professional artists found the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were continuing to have a catastrophic impact.

Nine in 10 were earning less than £1,000 per month and just 1% were earning over £2,500, the study found.

James Ainscough, chief executive of Help Musicians, said: “Whilst much of the economy is gradually getting back to normal, it will be a long time before musicians expect to return to their prepandemic income levels, as we predicted from the start of the pandemic.

“For the past 18 months, we have been supporting nearly 20,000 musicians with direct financial aid to help them pay their bills and stay afloat.”

The impact of the pandemic on musicians has not only been financial, as just under a third of musicians cited a lack of confidence as stopping them from returning to perform in live audiences.

Help Musicians has seen a 60% increase in musicians getting in contact for mental health support, as one in eight musicians said they were currently experiencing a mental health problem that was preventing them from returning to work, the research found.

It found less than a quarter were confident they would be able to continue a career in music.