A new campaign has started in the Netherlands with the name Liefde voor Muziek (Love for Music). The live music industry is in the toilet and it looks like it may take some time before it can go back to normal. For this same industry, this is a major economic disaster.
A message was shared on the website of the petition: “In recent years we have been used to spending our time in plazas, festivals, stages and cafes. There was always live music to add lustre to the soundtrack of the Summer, to party, seek comfort or discover. Now, this threatens to stop and that’s why we ask for your attention!”
The last few weeks AVO Magazine has, unfortunately, had to share a lot of articles of shows, events and tours that were getting cancelled or postponed. It breaks our heart every time such a message comes in and we know that we are not the only ones watching this situation with sadness. Of course, we like to see it differently, but the current situation doesn’t allow for that. If we look to the future, it does look far from rosy for this industry (and as you already read on AVO Magazine, this is not only the case in the Netherlands).
This petition focuses not only on the national and international artists who perform on the stages of the various large and small live venues in The Netherlands, but also on the companies and self-employed people (ZZP) who have been working hard all these years for an interesting musical programme. Just think of the sound and lighting technicians, backliners, stage builders, security guards, caterers, merchandisers, bus rentals, bookers, managers, programmers, hall managers, tour managers, marketeers, promotion and media specialists, retailers and employees of record companies. These are a lot of people and they are an important link in our live economy. These people now have no turnover or income.
We at AVO Magazine find the live music industry very important, because without it we wouldn’t have been able to organise concerts for Japanese music lovers. We think it’s important to show the politicians in The Hague that this industry is very important for a lot of Dutch people. By signing the petition (#liefdevoormuzieknu) you show that you find the live music industry indispensable. AVO Magazine has signed the petition.
