Research finds 1/3 of professional musicians STILL not earning due to pandemic

A third of professional musicians in the UK are still not earning from their trade, caused by the pandemic, according to the latest study by the charity ‘Help Musicians’. 

The shocking finding brings back heightened realism and poses against the notion that the industry is back on its feet. 

In total, 33% of almost 1,000 respondents reported earning nothing whatsoever from music, with 9/10 bringing in a monthly salary of less than £1,000. A measly 1% are pulling in more than £2,500 per month. This is only a slight improvement from the October research, which showed that 55% of professional musicians were no longer earning at all from their craft. 

Other notable findings: 

– 83% are unable to return to work through venue availability backlogs – 22% are considering leaving the industry entirely.

– 60% increase in musicians contacting the organisation over their mental health.

– 30% have a lack of confidence in returning to work due to Coronavirus fears and uncertainty. 

The report comes in the wake of Help Musicians making a final combined payment of £500,000 to musicians who have been relying on financial support since the start of the pandemic. 

“Whilst much of the economy is gradually getting back to normal, it will be a long time before musicians expect to return to their pre-pandemic 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. As the industry starts to recover we are shifting our emphasis towards helping musicians rebuild with a wide package of support, from advice on diversifying income streams, mentoring to re-build connections, mental health support and much more.”

“We recognise that for some musicians, it will take a long time to rebuild and the team at Help Musicians will continue to be available to those musicians who find themselves in real crisis over the months ahead, ensuring we are alongside musicians every step of the way,” said James Ainscough, Chief Executive of Help Musicians.