This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
22 Music Week 15.08.14 PROFILE HELP MUSICIANS UK


A HELPING HAND L


Help Musicians UK, formerly the Musicians Benevolent Fund, has rebranded and appointed a new Chair. The organisation now hopes to broaden its reach in the UK music industry


CHARITY n BY MURRAY STASSEN


ife as a professional musician is often a financially precarious existence. Many are either self-employed or working freelance,


lacking many of the benefits that full-time employment offers, such as a pension or sick pay. For the majority of working musicians who are not earning superstar salaries, there is often nothing to fall back on when something goes wrong in their personal lives or careers. This is where Help Musicians UK steps in. The charity provides financial support and


advice for emerging artists and professional musicians who are unable to work due to illness or injury and retirees whose principal career was in music. It also provides support for those in music-related professions such as sound engineers or music producers. Founded in 1921 and previously known as the


Musicians Benevolent Fund, the charity changed its working name to Help Musicians UK in January 2014. The British Council’s director of arts, Graham Sheffield CBE was appointed as its new chair in April. With a change of name and a refreshed look and feel, the charity now hopes to broaden the awareness of its work, which currently supports around 2,000 musicians each year. Sheffield tells Music Week: “I think the previous


chair and management felt that [the branding] looked a bit old fashioned. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think the words benevolent and fund are sort of dated words. When you’re trying to make a big impact, helping musicians is exactly what we do. “My job is to see that [Help Musicians UK] is


fit for its purpose in the contemporary professional music scene, both in terms of the kinds of musicians it helps, in whatever genre of music it is; classical, jazz, pop - any professional musician. But also that the services we provide are the ones that the profession actually sees as being valuable. “I think that in five years or so I would like to


be two or three significant steps forward in terms of the profession knowing about us, reaching more people and having a broader range of services and advice and projects to help. So it’s a growth in visibility, a growth in reach and a growth in what we can offer.” Each year, Help Musicians UK supports around


400 people who find themselves in an unexpected crisis leaving them unable to work, due to injuries or long term and terminal illness. As most musicians are either self-employed or working on a freelance basis with little financial security, being forced to take an extended period of time off with no income can be crippling for both them and their families. Ally McErlaine, lead guitarist of Texas, suffered


from a brain hemorrhage in 2009 and it was thought that he would not live. The charity worked closely with McErlaine’s wife Shelly Poole, helping the couple through each stage of his recuperation. Having now made a full recovery, McErlaine and


www.musicweek.com


ABOVE United


Vibrations: The London- based band were given financial support to expand and develop


through the charity’s Talent Programme


“We’re giving away £4 million a year. If we are going to double that we’re going to need a larger funding base”


GRAHAM SHEFFIELD, HELP MUSICIANS UK


Poole are preparing to release their new Red Sky July album in September. “Help Musicians UK were a fantastic support throughout [McErlaine’s recovery],” explains Poole. “I’d never heard of the charity and certainly didn’t think anything like this would ever apply to Ally or myself. I was in a real panic about all sorts of things, such as getting into our joint accounts to continue to pay our bills. Ally was still in a coma and I couldn’t access any of our accounts as he had all the passwords. “They put me in touch with an advisor about


how to get Ally the correct aftercare in the right place and what he was entitled to. I knew nothing about any of it and they guided me through the whole process. They were always at the other end of the phone offering support in all areas of Ally’s recovery, even as far as financially paying towards a


new physio when he needed extra intense work to start walking again.” Sheffield explains that for the charity to increase


its reach and help more musicians, it needs more funding. “We’re already giving away about £4m a year,” he says. “But if we’re going to double that then we’re going to need to have a larger funding base. Part of my work is going to be encouraging people to give to the charity and to leave money in their wills and make bequests and gifts and so on.” The charity has also received high-profile endorsement from the likes of Bryan Adams and music presenter Bob Harris OBE, who says he’s seen the work of Help Musicians UK first hand. “They really understand about the music business and the stresses and strains that those who work in it can suffer,” says Harris. “They do a great job in encouraging new musical talent and helping musicians at the start of their careers. “Help Musicians UK [also] helps established


musicians when things go wrong. So whether that’s an illness or an accident or some other crisis, they are there to help pick up the pieces. Older musicians can have a tough time too, so they offer help and advice as and when it’s needed so that musicians in retirement can get by. Help Musicians UK is vital to musicians. We all need to get behind this great charity and support it.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44