A Broken Record: Grassroots Music in COVID-19 is a short radio documentary, looking into the effect of the global Coronavirus pandemic on grassroots music and venues in the UK's Southern regions.

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On 26th March, 2020, the UK Government announced a national lockdown, forcing the closure of entire industries; grassroots arts and music being one of them.

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Nine months on and over 400 venues across the UK are still at risk of imminent closure. The guidelines for re-opening are simply not financially viable for so many of these venue owners, leaving many stuck in a vicious cycle of partial re-opening, swiftly followed by another uncertain closing-period. 

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Whilst funding has been released to keep venues going, many have not been eligible and for some, it is simply not enough.

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The domino effect of venue closures on the industry's ecosystem is being overlooked in the chaos of the pandemic. I'm finding out how the people at the heart of the industry are coping.

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Listen to find out the true cost of COVID-19 on the UK's grassroots music industry.

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