Stagehand in partnership with Crowdfunder, have launched #ILoveLive2, a second prize draw campaign organised to raise further funds for the production staff and stage crew impacted by the loss of work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Stagehand is the only UK charity specifically dedicated to providing hardship funding for live events industry workers. We reached our initial target of £1m in donations by the end of 2020, we need to keep raising funds to continue supporting those out of work crew that have fallen into the gaps in Government support.
Stagehand and the #ILoveLive initiative will not only make a real practical difference to helping people survive the huge challenges that they face, but it also offers a timely reminder that the wider music community cares about their plight.
A former stage manager who has already received grant aid from Stagehand said: “I can’t express how much this is going to help me. I woke up in tears this morning, upon the realisation that I had less than £10 to my name. I was desperately wondering how I was going to survive for the rest of the month when £500 landed in my account from Stagehand. Stagehand and all of the people who are creating fundraising projects are doing such an amazing thing for those of us who are currently unable to work in live music, and who have been unsuccessful in finding other work.”
The #ILoveLive campaign gives fans the chance to give something back to the people who make life-affirming live events happen and to win money-can’t-buy prizes from their favourite artists. The #ILoveLive campaign, in partnership with Crowdfunder UK (who have waived their platform fees), features a list of all of the artists who have contributed prizes. Fans can choose which artists they want to buy tickets for, and can increase their chances of winning by purchasing multiple tickets. Tickets are priced at £5 each. The draw is now live and remains open until Wednesday 17 March 2021.
The #ILoveLive campaign has been spearheaded by artist manager and promoter David Stopps with Andy Lenthall and Mike Lowe at Stagehand. They appealed to PPL, the BPI, major record labels and artist management companies, and raised £280,000 – most of which went to the 300 crew members in the most desperate need in the first round of grants. Since then, two further, larger rounds have been completed and round 4 will be funded by the proceeds raised from these prize draws.
The idea for a prize draw was suggested by Ian McAndrew of Wildlife Entertainment, whose management roster includes Arctic Monkeys and Royal Blood. He had previously set up a similar draw with Arctic Monkeys to benefit the Music Venue Trust.
Mike Lowe, the Chair of Stagehand’s Board of Trustees commented: “We know that when live shows can take place again in financially viable ways, the industry will be extremely busy. Artists, festivals and venues just want to get back to work and the public are hungry to see live entertainment again. No live show of any kind can happen without the skills and expertise of the army of live events workers. I am sure that the live events industry workers who we can help, will join me and my fellow trustees in expressing our massive appreciation for making all of this happen in the most difficult and unprecedented of times.”
Rob Love, CEO of Crowdfunder said: “This is a really exciting campaign and we are thrilled to be partnering with Stagehand and an array of incredible talent. Running prize draws with money-can’t-buy prizes can be a really effective fundraising tool. This crucial campaign will help support the ‘behind the scenes’ workers in the live music industry who have been left without work for months.”
