Industry news & advice blog

The MU represents musicians – that much you know. But we also campaign on issues that have an impact beyond our community of over 30,000 members.

When it comes to influencing government and decision-makers to protect venues, music education, orchestras and musicians’ rights as workers, we punch above our weight. We want that to continue. And for that, we need your help.

The power of fans
We are calling on all musicians to ask their fans to become MU Supporters. Supporters will receive a monthly update on our campaigning and what they can do to help.

That could be signing a petition, writing to an MP or tweeting in support of musicians fighting for their rights or for access to music for others.

It’s free and it only takes a minute to sign up at theMU.org/SupportTheMU but it could make a big difference to the local music community.

MU campaigns
So what are we campaigning on? We campaign for music venues, supporting those under threat of closure, and fighting for legal protections and their proper implementation so that the future of our music venues is secure.

Most British bands tour and play festivals in Europe. We want to make sure that they continue to be able to do this cheaply and easily after Brexit. The same goes for the European bands who come over here to gig. That’s why we’re leading the music industry in the fight for freedom of movement for musicians.

Who can sustain a career without being paid? Only the very rich. We battle against companies and promoters who ask musicians to play for free and fight for fair pay for all performers.

You may have seen us in the press recently talking about The Musician Behind the Moment – our new campaign to showcase the UK’s orchestral musicians and reveal the true and extraordinary breadth of work they do from performing on the Star Wars soundtracks to helping the elderly make music.

Last but not least, it shouldn’t just be children with rich parents who are able to learn an instrument. We want fair access for every child – that’s why we are lobbying local and national government for fair access to music education as well as fair terms and conditions for music teachers.

Do your bit
These are big goals, but they are achievable. The Musician Behind the Moment was seen by millions of people on social media in a single day.

Our campaigning for venues led to a change in the law that makes developers responsible for things like soundproofing if there is a music venue nearby. And our #WorkingInTheEU petition has around 25,000 signatures including MPs, Peers, musicians and music fans. Share theMU.org/SupportTheMU with people you know and boost our collective campaigning power.