07.07.2021: The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music met to discuss key issues for the music industry, including UK Music and Music for Dementia’s joint Power of Music project and the FAC and MMF’s Let The Music Move campaign.

David Warburton, Chair of the APPG, opened the meeting by highlighting what a difficult time it had been for the music industry and thanking everyone for their ongoing involvement in “keeping the show on the road”. He reflected that it has been an extraordinary time to chair the Group.

UK Music Chief Executive, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, then spoke on reopening. He highlighted that the Prime Minister’s announcement on the end of Covid-19 restrictions was a huge relief for the music industry and the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the sector for work. Jamie thanked the APPG for its ongoing work in Parliament to make the reopening possible. He then underlined some of the remaining issues for the sector, including the “last piece of the puzzle” – a government backed insurance scheme. He also stressed the importance of putting music to the front of the post-Covid-19 economic and social recovery process.

Featured Artist Coalition (FAC) CEO, David Martin, discussed the impact of Brexit and difficulty artists will have when they tour the EU in the future. He highlighted that our national music scene truly is world beating and a vote winner with the general public, referencing statistics from a recent UK Music poll which reinforced this. However, bands and artists are still unsure how touring the EU will work when international travel resumes, potentially losing them a huge market and key experiences to nurture their talent. David then discussed FAC and MMFs recently launched #LetTheMusicMove campaign, sharing its four key asks and the large number of high-profile musicians who are supporting it. David took several interesting questions from the group on what more can be done to improve the situation.

Finally, Grace Meadows from Music for Dementia spoke about the Power of Music project, a joint piece of work between UK Music and Music for Dementia. Grace began by discussing how music has helped so many people over the last 15 months but there is more to be done to capture the soft power of music which is “not to be underestimated”. She shared some context to the Power of Music work and discussed the next steps, including the intention to run focussed meetings over the summer and produce a report in the autumn to be shared with government, Parliamentarians, and music industry professionals. Grace spoke about how the partnership between Music for Dementia and UK Music feels very naturally aligned and will allow us to work even more cohesively across the music and health sector. APPG members were keen link this work up with the activities of other related APPGs such as those focused on Classical Music and Music Education.

Those who attended the meeting, included Alison Thewliss MP, Christina Rees MP, Conor McGinn MP, Patrick Grady MP, Chris Matheson MP, Dawn Butler MP, Lord Black of Brentwood, Earl of Clancarty, Lord Clement-Jones, Baroness Bonham-Carter, Lord Berkeley of Knighton and Lord Wood of Anfield and representatives from the office of Harriet Harman MP, Simon Baynes MP and Anne McLoughlin MP. Representatives from industry organisations FAC, MMF, MU, LIVE and Ivors Academy were also in attendance.