Give an X! Open letter from music industry urges young people to register to vote
Need to register to vote? Tonight's deadline is looming.
By Nick Reilly
The likes of Annie Mac, Jessie Ware, the team behind Glastonbury and many more have signed a new open letter urging 18-34-year-olds to “Give an X”, by registering to vote before 11:59PM today (April 16) for the UK regional elections next month.
The country will go to the polls on May 2 for a series of regional elections – including the Mayoral vote in cities such as London, Greater Manchester and Birmingham.
According to the new initiative, six million young people attended festivals and major music events last year – which is the same amount that did not register to vote at the last elections.
Now, some of music’s leading lights have signed an open letter that urges young people to register before tonight’s deadline. As well as the aforementioned stars, the likes of Bicep, Block9 and Foundation FM are all among the signatories. If that *is* you then don’t delay – you can register to vote here.
Their open letter, meanwhile, can be read in full below.
“Dear music lovers,
“We see you. We hear you. We see you streaming our tracks, we hear you sharing them with your friends. We see you dancing at our gigs, we hear you singing along. We see you at protests, sharing on social media, supporting your communities – we know you care about this country and the people in it.
“But here’s a melody that’s gone unheard: over 6 million of you attended festivals last year and yet 6 million of you remained silent in the chorus of democracy and didn’t vote in the last election.
“So you know where we need to see you next?
“The polling station.
“The people in power listen to the voters. They listen to what the voters care about. When you don’t vote, the people in power don’t listen to us.
“You raise your voices at our sets. Now it’s time to raise them at the ballot box.
“Let’s turn it up. Let’s stand up and be counted. Register to vote today and make your voice heard.
“Signed, the UK Music Industry
ABSOLUTE, Annie Mac, AVA Festival, Bicep, Block 9, Body Movements, Boxpark, Bricks Magazine, Carly Wilford, City Splash, Clash Magazine, Cornwall Folk Festival, Continental Drifts, Cross The Tracks, Daniel Avery, Deer Shed Festival, DJ Mag, Eats Everything, Elheist, Emerald, Eliza Rose, Fat Tony, FLY Open Air Festival, Foreign Beggars, FORWARDS, Foundation FM, Girls Don’t Sync, Gideon, HAAi, He.She.They, Jessie Ware, Katy B, Keep Hush, Klose One, Lost Horizons Festival, Love Saves The Day Festival, LWE, Mella Dee, Mixmag, Murkage Dave, NAINA, Ninja Tune, NVS Music Group, Oneman, Percolate Music, Project 6, Paul Woolford, Resident Advisor, Sacha Lord of Parklife and The Warehouse Project, Saoirse, SHERELLE, Shangri La, Shambala Festival, Tola Peckham, Threesixzero, The Cause, The Menendez Bros, Watchtower Group, Waterworks Festival, We Out Here Festival, Wide Awake Festival, Zed Bias.“