Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Protesters urge greater support for music industry in demo outside Parliament

The demonstration was organised by the Save Our Scene campaign group (Yui Mok/PA)
The demonstration was organised by the Save Our Scene campaign group (Yui Mok/PA)

Campaigners have taken part in a demonstration outside Parliament calling for greater support for the music industry.

Protesters cycled from Hyde Park and past Downing Street before arriving in Parliament Square.

The demonstration was organised by the Save Our Scene campaign group.

Our Scene bike protest
(Yui Mok/PA)

The organisation’s founder, George Fleming, said the music industry is in a “catastrophic” position thanks to coronavirus.

He told the PA news agency: “We are looking at losing a large portion of the industry by the time we come out of this and we just want to make sure, as a nation, we show the Government how important it is to us.”

Mr Fleming added: “It is really sad because it feels as though all the things we care about and enjoy in life are currently being left behind and there must be a way for us to move forward.

“I believe that music is one of the most important things in the world, we are the best at it and we have got to protect it.”

Our Scene bike protest
(Yui Mok/PA)

The protesters had a DJ “strapped into a rickshaw playing some lovely tunes for everybody” as they made their way to Parliament Square in convoy, he added.

Earlier this week, it was announced that more than 1,300 arts venues and organisations will each receive up to a £1 million share of a £257 million pot of Government funding.

The cash is part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

Our Scene bike protest
George Fleming (Yui Mok/PA)

However earlier this month, the general secretary of the Musicians’ Union said the industry is facing an “extraordinary talent drain” unless the Government offers its workers more support.

Horace Trubridge told the Economic Affairs Committee that a stimulus package should be introduced to encourage workers to stay in the sector.