Dr George Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in Music, was interviewed by Euronews about this year’s BRIT awards, which was one of the UK’s first mass live music events since the start of the pandemic.
Dr George Musgrave discussed how the BRIT awards brought a bit of normality and hope back into the music industry. He said: “This past year has just been so difficult for so many people, like millions of people around the globe obviously, but with the BRITS taking place tonight, live with no social distancing or mask wearing, I think it is massive really for what it represents, for what it symbolises.”
Talking about his research, Dr Musgrave added: “So my research for example looks at mental health in the music industry and for the past year we have seen some really particular challenges in music. So for musicians, reports of big emotional challenges that they haven’t qualified for financial support, we have seen hashtags like #WeAreViable and also the collapse of the live music industry which is such an important source of revenue for so many, and also a loss of kind of purpose and identity.
“While for fans music has helped so many people get through lockdown and the pandemic, the loss of that togetherness from music, that kind of being together, the sociality of it meant something has been missing and so I think tonight everyone will be feeling like a little bit of normality is coming back and so in that respect the event is really symbolically very important and quite meaningful actually for a lot of people.”
