Writing An Open Letter To The British PM, Ed Sheeran Asks For Improvements For The Protection And Development Of Music Education

Famous pop singer from England, Ed Sheeran. (Instagram/@teddysphotos)

JAKARTA - Ed Sheeran, through his Instagram upload, sent an open letter to the British Prime Minister (PM), Keir Starmer. On behalf of the Ed Sheeran Foundation, the singer of Thinking Out Loud asked the government to protect and develop music education in the UK.

"Dear Starmer Head, We write collectively as artists, civil society, and industry, to attract your personal trust in music and promise opportunities for all workers," Sheeran wrote in a letter opener, dated March 23, 3025.

Sheeran mentioned that there are concerns, where learning to play musical instruments and appearing on stage, both at school and community clubs, are luxury that not all children are able to have.

"As an industry, we made 7.6 billion euros for the UK economy, but the next generation wasn't there to take over. Last year was the first year in more than 20 years without a single or UK album on the top 10 global charts," he said.

The 34-year-old musician feels it's time for the British government to act. He also included an index, citing a 21 percent drop in the provision of music learning in public schools.

We also need you to support music education. Artists and industry cannot perform on the world stage for England without school, youth clubs, and stage at home," Sheeran said.

"We collectively request a 250 million UK music education package this spring, to fix the music that has been broken for decades," he added.

The Grammy-winning singer also asked five important things to protect and develop music education, as follows; 1) Music Funds in schools as well as sports; 2) Close the gap, musicians as music teachers; 3) Launch UK-wide funds for grassroot music cooperation; 4) Launch of exhibitions and music internships that are in accordance with industry; and 5) Diversification of the curriculum, including industrial voices.

On the final page of the open letter, Sheeran, who signed his signature, stated that his party was willing to be part of the solution for better music education.

We understand that there is a lot of pressure. As an artist, civil society and industry, we want to be part of the solution. We look forward to hearing your reply soon," he said.