What is the Census?
The music industry brings together a broad and diverse range of people, each embarking on a unique career path pursuing their own creative vision.
The first ever Musicians’ Census will paint a comprehensive picture of the industry as a whole. By mapping the total population of musicians and learning what musicians’ lives and careers look like, organisations across the industry will have the insight they need to support today’s community of musicians, as well as musicians of the future.
Can I take part?
The Census is open to anyone considering themselves to be a musician in the UK who earns an income from music or plans to earn an income from music in future.
Whether you’re a performer, teacher, studio engineer, composer, whatever your role, we want to hear from the widest group possible.
Why is this happening?
Musicians are heading into 2023 facing a perfect storm of challenges, from the barriers to touring brought about by Brexit, to the ongoing difficulties in reconnecting with audiences post-pandemic, to the cost of living and cost of working crisis.
In order to provide the best possible support, we need to get to know the music community better; who you are, where you are, what you do and what support you need to keep doing it.
Who is behind the Musicians’ Census?
The Musicians’ Census is a project from Help Musicians and the Musicians’ Union, working with the expertise of leading research agency Walnut.
The Census is being supported by a huge number of organisations across the sector, including UK Music, Black Lives in Music and many other industry partners who have input into the project and will also benefit from its insight.
The census is being carried out by Walnut Unlimited on behalf of Help Musicians and the Musicians’ Union.
Help Musicians is an independent charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement. They help at times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity, giving people the extra support that they need at a crucial stage that could make or break their career. https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/.
The Musicians’ Union are a trade union for professional musicians living and working in the UK representing over 30,000 members. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/
Your answers to this census will help us gain an up-to-date picture of what the U.K. population of musicians looks like and gather further insight on what life is like for musicians today e.g., career information and wellbeing. This insight will enable us to track changes in the musicians population over time (with the Census being run every five years), with key statistical findings shared with other charities and music industry bodies to enable others to make better decisions in how to support the U.K.’s community of musicians. With this in mind, we’d love you to share information about this survey with other people in the music sector so that we hear from as many people as possible. You can copy the online link and share on your socials, via email or text message.
https://go.newvistalive.com/start/?jn=P23122
Thank you for your time, you know what to do.