news category All News, General News created 13 March 2020
Loss of Earnings Survey
We are currently running a short survey to assess the current impact the virus is having on music producers, engineers, mixers and mastering engineers. Please share will everyone you know involved in music production.. The survey will run until midnight on the 25th March.
Click here to fill in the survey
MPG Events:
We regret to inform you that the our PPL In Session – Working With Producers event scheduled for 25th March has been cancelled.
Please note Musikmesse 2020 has been cancelled – more information here https://musik.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html
We are keeping a close eye on government advice, will be making judgements on our upcoming events schedule on a case by case basis.
If you are attending MPG events, we advise following general good hygiene and common-sense – see the General Advice below.
Hygiene Advice at MPG Events:
General Official Advice:
It is important to get the best expert and official advice regularly throughout this situation. This should help to avoid panic and misinformation as well as ensuring you are well-informed and can make the best decisions.
The NHS has a wealth of information, including commonly asked questions on Covid-19, general health advice, and some specific advice on effective hand washing.
The UK Government’s latest general information and advice on Covid-19.
World Health Organization Q&A on Corona virus.
Work disruption:
We would encourage members work unattended wherever possible, even if their clients normally attend mixing and mastering sessions, and encourage remote monitoring for recording sessions using tools such as Source Connect where possible.
If clients cancel a recording session due to self-isolation, quarantine or travel-restrictions, and you are unable to charge them cancellation, you could try the following:
Financial Assistance
Help Musicians
If you find yourself in financial difficulties, Help Musicians have crisis-funding available, and MPG Full Members meet Help Musicians’ definition of a ‘Professional Musician’ so are eligible provided they meet the financial criteria.
https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/news/latest-news/advice-relating-to-coronavirus-covid-19
Arts Council England have also indicated they may be able to supply assistance to freelancers working in the creative industries – we have written to them and will update members with further information as it becomes available.
Legal Advice – MPG Full members are entitled to 45 minutes free legal advice with Penny Ganz Legal – see here for details.
Universal Credit – self-employed people are not entitled to statutory sick pay, but may be entitled to Universal Credit if they are on a low income. If your income has been affected by illness or cancellations outside of your control you may now qualify for Universal Credit. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-support-for-employees-benefit-claimants-and-businesses
Business Rates – The chancellor announced a number of measures related to business rates relief – the most relevant one for owners of small studios may be the Small Business Rates Relief Grant which will give a one-off £3k grant to businesses that already benefit from SBRR. Businesses with a rateable value of less than 51k are eligible for a rates holiday from April 1st. Contact your local authority for details on the grant and other Business Rates queries.
Statutory Sick Pay for SME’s
The government announced new legislation to cover 100% of the cost of SSP for employees who are absent from work due to COVID-19 in a small or medium business (less than 250 employees). Self-employed people don’t qualify for SSP and we strongly urge members to sign this petition requesting sick pay for the self-employed. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300336?fbclid=IwAR0eRMVjtcc64IYkES4ALn7uKTW8dVt9EYcmSHu50M9T8G1OtYV6PWVcv1Y
Recording Studios
At the moment, all studios we are in contact with are open for business as normal, although some non-operational staff may be working remotely. Studios can help facilitate remote monitoring of recording sessions.
There are reports of sessions being cancelled, so if you need to book a last-minute session, do call around as there may be last-minute availability and studios will be grateful for the business.
General Travel Advice:
If you are planning to travel, including to an overseas event, you should follow the advice of The UK Government’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office:
Also check any local government and regional public health advice for any region you are looking to travel to. If these advise against travel for any reason you should consider very carefully whether to continue your plans. Note: that if the advice is against travel you may not be covered by travel insurance.
Finally check updates from the airline, any travel agency you have used and so on.
There’s also NHS Covid-19-specific health advice for travellers.
Before you travel, you should always ensure you have adequate travel insurance, including such things as:
Note that, even with all of the above, in this fast-developing situation and differing government reactions, local advice and airlines own actions may not allow for repatriation or return travel and there is always a risk of being stuck abroad. In that circumstance you should way up the risks of travelling for holiday or work now and potentially being stuck in quarantine or unable to get flights after your trip.
