Alex Lahey pens open letter to Victorian Premier, seeking support for the music industry

The ramifications that COVID-19 has had on the music industry has been devastating. The pandemic has impacted everything from major festivals and tours to conferences and award shows. With industry experts projecting that the live music sector could lose billions, we are in a time of grave uncertainty.

Melbourne musician Alex Lahey has penned an open letter to Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, seeking support for the music industry in crisis. The letter details the anxieties that musicians nationwide are currently facing, without any foreseeable income in the wake of the pandemic.

“My name is Alex Lahey and I’m a 27-year-old female-identifying musician born and raised in the inner south of Melbourne, working full time as an independent touring artist, proud representing my country and my state nationally and internationally,” the letter begins.

“I have worked hard my whole life to get to the point where I can live off the money I earn playing my music. Up until I was able to earn enough to live off my music, I worked as a Media Monitor for a number of years at the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria. Now, I employ a number of local musicians as part of my pursuits and have a brilliant local team who depend on me to provide them with a modest income. Nevertheless, we live gig to gig.

Lahey continues to detail the losses that her team and herself have faced in the wake of the pandemic. Revealing that all Lahey’s 2020 engagements that were set to bring in revenue have either been cancelled or postponed.

“I am in no doubt that people like myself and my peers — artists and musicians who have worked hard enough to make a modest living from their art — are among those most affected by the current health crisis and yet there is no forthcoming assistance pledged by governments for this group in our community. I echo the words and concerns of Tony Burke MP in saying that our governments have no plan for our sector.”

The letter then poses a question as to what the government can do to aid musicians and those in the industry that have been impacted in this time of crisis.

“I’m wondering whether there can be anything done to bring some immediate relief to this group in our community,” Lahey writes.

“How do we ensure artists like myself survive this crisis and not lose our presence nationally and internationally? How do we make sure our musicians don’t disappear? How do we provide more immediate financial support so they can perhaps work on other projects? How do we ensure their health and wellbeing — particularly their mental health — is not overlooked?”

Lahey calls to attention the profound reaction that the music and entertainment industry had during the recent bushfire devastation. Highlighting the industry-wide response to help where they could during the crisis.

“As a state and a country that prides itself on the global success of the artists we foster and help grow, we are now facing the risk of the disappearance of our arts industry and something has to be done now to prevent that from happening.”

You can read the open letter in its entirety below.

https://www.facebook.com/alexlaheymusic/posts/2583548141917732?__xts__[0]=68.ARAA9zcw-TSXb3WBtSshgB98OAb4ehecUSxRjIx0td6tlhnnY-2z8tq9ATs5zcAcWkcPWLR6-bkUTi1KqZl4jD565VWFPmpbLqgTJoPbvBqU9bTo2orjERORtiU0XSEnGJ_le1P6eqShzIsYjjRBk3mhycD6zZgwZOExsRly6KfKYbXbmXWuxJmekNLz4GmeLa3VAyNy4yrYVsau54jLZkyvt7icHztOzSdREk3zoUrn59nd5z-rQUOMF__3LregMnTaMT3UiJHwsecJqPO_TK8Asjj-6FLCz-XbE1wloR1ukzcPv49kfY4yUJo2apk73Rg3Gw3UEf0LFixsaFukrtSKbXJe&__tn__=-R

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.