Published
Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 14:00
- A statement from RA's co-founder Nick Sabine.
As an independent cultural organisation, we are incredibly relieved to be awarded this funding. Like everyone in the cultural sector, the pandemic has decimated our business model. We've experienced a 95% loss of revenue and expect no meaningful recovery for at least the next six months. We're an independent company with no external investors or corporate backing, so this £750,000 grant is a lifeline for us. It will cover approximately 30% of our losses until April 2021 and is therefore essential to the survival of RA as an organisation.
Following Covid-forced redundancies, we have 56 permanent members of staff, spanning writers, editors, designers, filmmakers, web developers, promoter support and more, most of whom have been working reduced hours. 75% of the grant will go towards retaining jobs and avoiding making further redundancies. The remaining 25% will support our network of creative freelancers whose income has been wiped out during the pandemic. It will also ensure we can maintain our stated commitments to support critically important causes.
We exist as an organisation to support electronic music culture. While we are deeply grateful to receive this lifeline, this is not a moment for celebration. The events caused by the pandemic continue to have dire consequences for the hundreds of thousands of people who give so much to keep our culture alive. Each and every element of the dance music ecosystem—a network of thousands of small, independently run organisations and self-employed freelancers, from clubs, events professionals and booking agents to artists and promoters—is facing an existential threat. A huge number of these will not survive the next six months, leaving an unimaginable hole in an already fragile environment. Our purpose as an organisation is to help those communities, receiving this grant ensures we can continue to do that.
We'd like to thank Arts Council England and DCMS for the #HereForCulture campaign. We'd also like to thank the Night Time Industries Association, the Association For Independent Festivals and the Association For Electronic Music, which work to ensure the cultural and economic value of our sector is in the consciousness of UK policy makers. Without their efforts, especially on the #LetUsDance campaign, electronic music organisations, venues and festivals might not have had access to these funds. Finally, a sincere thank you to all of our staff for their tireless efforts in incredibly difficult circumstances.
Find out more about RA's commitment to community projects.
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Update, April 2021: Read an update on RA's Arts Council England grant, as we break down the application process and how the £750,000 was spent.