UK record labels association the BPI has announced further financial support for the artist and live music communities as they continue to fight the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donations totalling nearly £270,000, co-ordinated by the BPI, will go to a range of causes from this second round of funding that will help to sustain artists and musicians, artist managers and grassroots music venues that are most in need.
Close to £60,000 will go to each of Help Musicians, music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, and the Music Venue Trust, while mental wellbeing and addictions charity Music Support will receive nearly £30,000 to help fund its NHS-approved Thrive app. The monies are drawn from funds previously provided by major record labels Sony Music Entertainment UK, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK, and independents Cherry Red and Demon Music Group, as well as by The BRIT Awards, Amazon Music and PPL, and which have since been added to with a significant contribution by YouTube Music. Separately, just under £60,000 funded directly by The BRIT Awards will go to the Music Managers Forum (MMF) Rebuild Project.
This package of contributions follow a major £1.25 million donation made by the recorded music sector, again co-ordinated by the BPI, in April earlier this year to the Help Musicians Coronavirus Hardship Fund along with a previously unannounced £100,000 donation, made possible by Amazon Music, that went to the Music Venues Trust. The total value of overall donations made by the recorded sector and its music partners to date now stands at around £1,620,000 – with further residual funds still to be apportioned.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive, BPI & BRIT Awards, said: ‘Record labels and music companies have been individually helping those across the music community most affected by the Covid-19 emergency, but they also recognise the value of working collectively. These further donations aimed at helping artists, managers and venues, which come on top of substantial donations already made to Help Musicians and the Music Venues Trust, underline the sector’s solidarity with all those affected and will hopefully help to make a difference as we work together to bring the industry through this crisis. We thank the organisations that have donated, including a generous new contribution from YouTube Music.’
