Chief Executive of Help Musicians UK, James Ainscough, has announced that the charity is providing more support than ever to its beneficiaries according to its 2018 Annual Report, revealed at HMUK’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday 25 April 2019.
2018 Help Musicians UK Annual Report
According to the report, Help Musicians UK increased its expenditure on its Creative and Health & Welfare Programme by 23% to £6.2m in 2018.
The charity made a record number of payments to support individuals and organisations, rising by 67%, reaching more musicians outside London and from BAME backgrounds than ever before.
Increased activity and expenditure includes:
- a record number of 6,579 Health & Welfare payments to musicians to the value of £2.2m, growing by 38% from the previous year
- supporting 5,191 musicians via the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme to the value of £0.6m, growing by 165% from 1,960 in 2017
- 312 Creative development grants awarded to individuals and organisations
- 674 home visits to musicians in need
- 987 medical assessments funded through the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM)
- the launch of the Do It Differently Fund, which provides 360 degree support across creative, wellbeing and business
- the one-year anniversary of Music Minds Matter – a service which continues to help individuals in the music industry who are struggling to cope, providing a listening ear support service around the clock
Meeting health, welfare, creative and career needs
James Ainscough said:
‘This year’s results highlight that the need for our services is greater than ever and still growing.
‘Help Musicians wants a world where musicians thrive yet we know that the nature of a musician’s career, together with the current volatility of the UK’s economic and political climate, can leave them uniquely vulnerable.
‘We continually gather insights to shape our support so that our programme is relevant to all professional musicians and meets their most pressing health, welfare, creative and career needs.
‘We are committed to working collaboratively with partner organisations to identify need and deliver support where it is needed most.’
To read Help Musicians UK’s 2018 Annual Report, please click here.
