UK Music has offered a six-prong action plan for the government to follow to get the live music industry back up and running in a report titled Let the Music Play: Save Our Summer.

Released on the day a new lockdown went into effect, the industry org has asked for an indicative date for full capacity restart; a Government-backed reinsurance scheme; targeted financial support; extension to the VAT rate reduction on tickets; rollover of the paid 2020 Local Authority license fees; and extension to business rates relief.

“The task for the music industry is therefore to first demonstrate that we can effectively manage the health risk by taking necessary measures to reduce the risk of transmission at live music events, and secondly to find a way to operate in the current landscape in a way that is financially viable,” UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin wrote in the report.

UK Music is asking the government to establish a taskforce that can advise, evaluate and validate the various innovations the industry plans to implement. They request that what was done with the Sports Technology and Innovation Group be applied to the live performing arts sector.

“The clock is ticking, and any day soon we could see major festivals and events start pulling the plug for lack of certainty,” Njoku-Goodwin told The Guardian. “There will need to be a concerted effort from industry and the government together.”

Read the full report here.