50+ Artists and Industry sign Open Letter urging UK young people to vote

In 2023 over 6 million young people ages 18 – 34 across the UK attended festivals, watching their fave artists, live acts, and DJs, in their favourite fields and venue spaces.

But – that same massive number didn’t vote in the last election. They didn’t show up to make their voice heard and their vote count. There is a shocking set of statistics that show the youth are increasingly disengaged with politics, feeling like they can’t make a difference. Most people under 34 are more likely to head to a protest than the ballot boxes, so the music industry is here on a mission to make voting 2024’s biggest cultural conversation. Uniting to urge people to vote, the heaviest names in the industry have come together to urge the UK’s youth to get involved, make their voices heard and change the shape of their futures.

On board to support the cause, there’s a hefty bill of names with artists, festivals, venues, record labels and plenty more who have signed – Annie Mac, AVA Festival, Bicep, Block 9, Bricks Magazine, Cross The Tracks, Eats Everything, Emerald, Eliza Rose, Fat Tony, FLY Open Air Festival, Foundation FM, Gideon, HAAi, Jessie Ware, Katy B, Keep Hush, Murkage Dave, Ninja Tune, NVS Music Group, Project 6, Tola Peckham, Threesixzero, The Cause, We Out Here Festival, Wide Awake are just a selection of the names backing this initiative. The open letter can be found below.

United voices are powerful, and voting is an important part of protest. Make them heard.

– AN OPEN LETTER –

Dear music lovers,

We see you. We hear you. We see you streaming our tracks, we hear you sharing them with your friends. We see you dancing at our gigs, we hear you singing along. We see you at protests, sharing on social media, supporting your communities – we know you care about this country and the people in it.

But here’s a melody that’s gone unheard: over 6 million of you attended festivals last year and yet 6 million of you remained silent in the chorus of democracy and didn’t vote in the last election.

So you know where we need to see you next?

The polling station.

The people in power listen to the voters. They listen to what the voters care about. When you don’t vote, the people in power don’t listen to us. You raise your voices at our sets. Now it’s time to raise them at the ballot box. Let’s turn it up. Let’s stand up and be counted. Register to vote today and make your voice heard.

Signed, the UK Music Industry

ABSOLUTE, Annie Mac, AVA Festival, Bicep, Block 9, Body Movements, Boxpark, Bricks Magazine, Carly Wilford, City Splash, Clash Magazine, Cornwall Folk Festival, Continental Drifts, Cross The Tracks, Daniel Avery, Deer Shed Festival, Eats Everything, Elheist, Emerald, Eliza Rose, Fat Tony, FLY Open Air Festival, Foreign Beggars, FORWARDS, Foundation FM, Girls Don’t Sync, Gideon, HAAi, He.She.They, Jessie Ware, Katy B, Keep Hush, Klose One, Lost Horizons Festival, Love Saves The Day Festival, LWE, Mella Dee, Mixmag, Murkage Dave, NAINA, Ninja Tune, NVS Music Group, Oneman, Percolate Music, Project 6, Paul Woolford, Resident Advisor, Sacha Lord of Parklife and The Warehouse Project, Saoirse, SHERELLE, Shangri La, Shambala Festival, Tola Peckham, Threesixzero, The Cause, The Menendez Bros, Watchtower Group, Waterworks Festival, We Out Here Festival, Wide Awake Festival

We’re not talking about a festival.

We’re talking about the election.

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