“Last year was the first in over 20 years without a UK global top 10 single or album in the charts. The time to act is now”: Ed Sheeran calls on the British government to invest in music education

What does the future look like for the music industry? It’s tricky to get a handle on just how the landscape will look in the next ten to twenty years. A big issue is the lack of investment in music education, and for the UK in particular, the next generation of musical hopefuls are currently contending with a state education system that has seen a 21% decrease in music provision.

Long a champion of nurturing new talent - and spotlighting music education - Ed Sheeran has written an open letter to the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, requesting an emergency £250m UK education package to help re-supply schools with the resources, staff and energy they need to revitalise music lessons.

In the letter - dubbed 'Protect and Grow Music Education'- Sheeran states;

“Dear Sir Keir Starmer, we are writing collectively as artists, civil society and industry, appealing to your personal belief in music and the promise of opportunity for all under Labour.

“As an industry, we bring in £7.6bn into the UK economy, yet the next generation is not there to take the reins.”

The letter - which has an impressive roster of co-signers (see below) - points to the fact that learning an instrument and being able to get up on stage (be it in school or at a community club) is now a luxury that children are frequently unable to access, whether it be due to cost or the lack of school-supported pathways.

Sheeran also points to some alarming stats that the British music industry should be extremely concerned about; “Last year was the first in over 20 years without a UK global top 10 single or album in the charts. The time to act is now. State schools - which educate 93% of the country’s children - have seen a 21% decrease in music provision.”

The letter then gets to its key demand - that a hard cash injection is urgently needed; “We collectively ask for a £250m UK music education package this Spring to repair decades of dismantling music. Music education is cross-departmental: Culture, Education, Foreign Office, Health & Social Care and Business & Trade."

Ed breaks down the letter's objective succinctly; "Music in and out of school should be for all, not a few.”

Co-signers of the letter include Stormzy, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Robert Plant, Coldplay, Dave and Central Cee.

The letter has been borne out of the aims of the Ed Sheeran Foundation, which launched in January, and spotlights the five central areas that it believes the UK government should focus on to improve the quality of music education.

They are
- Music funding in schools
- Music teacher training
- Investment in grassroots venues/spaces
- Music-based apprenticeships
- A wider-ranging music curriculum.

Starmer, himself a former flautist and passionate music advocate for reversing the ‘degradation of creative arts and music in schools’, has yet to respond.