Multi Award Winning Female Saxophonist, Birmingham, UK, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae, Blues, Soul and Originals. 'Music for the soul'
There is an opportunity to speak up for musicians, but we must hurry: each year, the chancellor of the exchequer – the government’s chief finance minister – makes a Budget statement to MPs in the House of Commons. On 2021, the speech will be delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak this Wednesday 3rd March. Mr. Sunak’s choices are going to shape the finances of the country for the upcoming year, and it is essential that he knows about our struggles.
Towards the end of December, the Musicians Union shared my article on menopausal musicians on their Twitter account. I am glad they keep the articles rotating to ensure more people who might benefit from them can read them.
A new year usually means new energy and ideas to achieve our goals, but the events of 2020 pose a particularly difficult challenge: the impact that COVID-19 has had on the economy, and how it has compromised the viability of a big portion of the entertainment industry events, make for a rather somber panorama for 2021. This is no reason to give up, of course, but to seek all the resources and help that could boost your work and help you navigate the upcoming months.
As member of the Musician’s Union, I was part of the process to sign a memorandum of understanding between Coventry City of Culture Trust, Midlands TUC Cultural & Leisure Committee and the trade unions Equity, BECTU and the MU. This memorandum contains the agreements we reached on the terms of engaging professional actors, performers, musicians, creatives, and technicians, looking forward to the fact that Coventry is the UK City of Culture 2021.
“Femininity is cherished and exploited in the music industry. Producers make their fortunes by selling a version of feminine sexual perfection and we see this through comments such as ‘You sound ok but you just don’t have the right look’ which is mentioned in TV music competitions. The winner goes through a complete make-over with additional air brushing to personify ultimate beauty and achievement. But then, years later, what happens when the menopause hits?”
October 18th was established as World Menopause Day to raise awareness about the issues, experiences and challenges that this natural stage of life brings to a bit more than half the population of the world, yet is hardly spoken about and even considered a bit “taboo”. To contribute to this campaign, I wrote an article for the Musician’s Union to shed some light over life as a menopausal musician.
Some days ago, the government formally announced that indoor performances with the required measures of prevention and social distance can take place again starting August 1st, which is this Saturday.
This newly structured event that will go online to teach you how to thrive in the middle of the uncertainty of current times has officially sold all the slots available! But if you did not get to book, don’t get discouraged, Sound Connections enabled a waiting list.
Given the amount of money generated by the streaming of music, it doesn’t make sense that songwriters, composers and performers have to rely on Government support and struggle so badly to survive. For this reason, the Musicians’ Union and Ivors Academy joined forces to demand more transparency in the flow of money generated by streaming services.
