If you are a Belfast-based member and would like to get involved in how we tackle parking, please get in touch. Photo: The MU.
This week MU members in Belfast met with Charlene Hegarty, Northern Ireland Regional Officer, and Sinéad McCarney, Campaign and Organising Official, to discuss life as a musician in the city.
The conversation focused on the growing cost and inaccessibility of parking in Belfast. Members highlighted the challenges of working late nights, unloading and reloading equipment, and the lack of parking spaces at venues, all of which are contributing to musicians having to turn down work.
Members also shared how parking charges are cutting into already tight margins, making work as a musician increasingly unsustainable.
Belfast is a designated UNESCO City of Music, a title that celebrates and champions music. Members warned that the impact of musicians not having affordable access to venues undermines this status and risks Belfast’s reputation as a leading music city.
Get in touch if you’d like to be involved
The MU is committed to supporting members in organising around this issue, which was first raised through the Union’s Organising Training Programme, designed to equip members with the skills to advocate for better working conditions and to protect Belfast as a city for musicians.
If you are a Belfast-based member and would like to get involved in how we tackle parking, please contact Charlene via charlene.hegarty@themu.org.