Musicians' Union (MU)

A photo of Charlie standing at a lectern as he receives his award. He is wearing a black blazer on top of a graphic tee, and behind him is a large screen with his name on it and the Youth Music Awards logo.

🏆Charlie Baxter is this year's winner of the @youthmusic.bsky.social Inspirational Music Leader award!

Read about his work in education to break down barriers and make music truly accessible for young people

🔗 ow.ly/gk6P50Xz1sk

Sign the Petition Stop the suspension of undergraduate music courses at The University of Nottingham

📣 Add your voice to the call!

Sign the petition to stop the suspension of music courses at the University of Nottingham

MU Sends Open Letter to University of Nottingham on Music Course Cuts Music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham while the university’s council decides whether to terminate the courses permanently. Read our open letter to the Univ...

Suspending music courses will have a devastating impact on musical life at the University, as well as future courses, job, and career opportunities across Nottingham and the wider East Midlands

👇 Read our open letter to the University

❗The University of Nottingham has suspended music courses for new students - while it decides whether to terminate the courses permanently

🧵

Westminster Council: Back Your Buskers! In spring 2025, City of London Magistrates Court ruled that busking in Leicester Square was a “statutory nuisance” and compared it to “psychological torture techniques.” The ruling effectively banned ...

Over 2,000 people have signed a petition in support

✍️Add your voice to the call: www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/we...

❓This follows a court ruling banning busking in Leicester Square – and the festive closure of the Trafalgar Square pitch

✊Busking is not a "nuisance" and not "torture" - it's a form of creative work that should be respected

Over 30 buskers went to the last full Westminster Council meeting to speak to councillors about finding new, viable busking pitches

🧵👇

#BackYourBuskers

Cloudflare down: X and more apps hit by internet outage The company says it is working to understand the full impact of a problem which potentially "impacts multiple customers."

❗The MU website is currently down due to the global Cloudflare outage

Members can still contact the union via membership@themu.org or your regional team for advice and assistance

Read more about the outage via BBC News:

While UK music contribution to the country's economy in 2024 hit a record £8bn, artists are experiencing a number of challenges including:

❗The impact of AI
❗Slower artist development
❗Barriers to EU touring
❗The cost of touring crisis

This is Music 2025 Report Reveals UK Music Industry Contributed Record £8 Billion To Economy UK Music’s annual This Is Music report reveals record-breaking economic figures for the UK music industry while highlighting the challenges facing artists, grassroots venues, and the wider sector.

Read more and access the full report 👇

And 32% of music creators in 2024 were affected by Brexit - up 4% from 2023

90% of music creators said we need protections from AI to stop their work being used without permission or payment

The @ukmusic.bsky.social economic report shows a record year for the music industry - but artists still face barriers on many fronts

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Westminster Council: Back Your Buskers! In spring 2025, City of London Magistrates Court ruled that busking in Leicester Square was a “statutory nuisance” and compared it to “psychological torture techniques.” The ruling effectively banned ...

Buskers are campaigning for new viable and accessible busking spaces in Westminster to replace the pitch lost in Leicester Square

📣 Call on Westminster Council to back its buskers!

Sign the petition at bit.ly/3GdMWVS

🙌 Thanks to everyone who's signed the petition and supported the campaign so far

Text on a textured yellow background. At the top, blue highlighted white text says "Westminster Council: back your buskers!" Below, the main text says: "The Trafalgar Square busking pitch is now closed until Wednesday 7 January 2026." Smaller black text underneath says: "As a result, right now, there are no high profile, viable and accessible amplified busking pitches in Westminster." Along the bottom is a white line and our logo in black: "M U Musicians' Union" followed by a right arrow for more information

🚨 It’s the first year that the Trafalgar Square pitch is closed for Christmas without Leicester Square to fall back on

This means there are no high-profile, viable, accessible and safe amplified busking pitches in Westminster

The CMM brings together the organisations representing those who compose, record, perform and produce the music we all love - the MU, the Ivors Academy, FAC, MMF and the MPG

✊Now is the moment to actually do right by artists and songwriters

As the music industry starts to sign major AI deals, we need to put human creators at the centre of the AI opportunity

The Council of Music Makers (CMM) is calling for an industry wide standard guaranteeing music-maker consent, control and compensation

❓Did you know AI is already affecting job security for creative workers?

68% of creative workers surveyed felt their job security was reduced as a result of generative AI

🔗 https://ow.ly/gsCG50Xlaon

It should be working now!

🍿Calling all MU members!

We’ve teamed up with Vue to get you up to 30% off standard cinema tickets in time for the holiday season

🔗 http://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/love-movies-mu-launches-discount-vue-cinema-tickets-for-members

✊Every musician in Scotland deserves fair work

Share the checklist with organisations that you work with and help build better working environments and practices across the arts 👇

📣 Are you a creative freelancer in Scotland?

@scottishtuc.bsky.social have created the Fair Work for Freelancers Checklist, calling for

✅Greater pay security
✅ Clearer guidance on royalties
✅ Better access for trade unions

MU Statement on Manchester Pride Entering Liquidation The organisation in charge of Manchester Pride recently confirmed it has gone into voluntary liquidation. The MU will be supporting members affected by cancelled performances, and those affected are urged to get in touch with the regional office.

❗MU statement on Manchester Pride entering liquidation

Dumfries and Galloway Council Consults to Close Music Service Take part in the consultation protesting the proposed closure of Dumfries and Galloway’s instrumental music service. Share your views by 23 November 2025.

🚨 Dumfries and Galloway Council is considering axing its instrumental music service

Do you live or work in the area? Take part in the consultation online or in person before Sunday 23 November

UK Music is delighted to introduce its practical Five Ps resource! Designed to boost diversity and inclusion across the music industry, it is an invaluable toolkit for music organisations and businesses. Click here for all you need to know: tinyurl.com/yjpkey9s

New French Customs Regulation Affects Musicians Taking Merchandise to France A new French customs regulation means more hoops to jump through if you are taking merchandise to France in a van as part of your music work.

A new French customs regulation means more hoops to jump through if you are taking merch to France in a van as part of your music work

Learn more
🔗 https://ow.ly/PupT50Xh0YG

#EUTouring #CarryOnTouring

New Resource Hub for Local Councillors and Constituency Labour Party Members Support musicians in your community with dedicated resources for local councillors and political party members.

📣 Calling all local councillors and political party members!

Support music and musicians where you are with our dedicated resource hub — featuring briefings and toolkits on issues ranging from AI and music to strengthening local music economies
🔗 https://ow.ly/uK2u50Xh0UO

Scotland Demands Better: Join the Anti-Poverty March in Edinburgh Join over 5,000 people in Edinburgh for the Scotland Demands Better march and rally against poverty on Saturday 25 October 2025.

Scotland Demands Better!

Join over 5,000 people in Edinburgh for the march and rally against poverty on Saturday 25 October
🔗 https://ow.ly/ySTE50XgZoi

Scotland Demands Better is a coalition campaign launched by The Poverty Alliance

AI and the Music Industry | Protecting your original material Do you think tech firms should be able to use your music to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models without your consent and paying you fairly?

We're fighting for consent, credit and fair renumeration for all creators for the use of their work to train AI models

👇Learn more and take action: theMU.org/AI

❗68% self-employed and freelance workers felt that their financial compensation had diminished because of Generative AI

❗47% self-employed and freelance workers felt that terms and conditions had diminished because of Generative AI

*Source: CREAATIF research project