New open letter from the UK music industry is urging young people to register to vote

A new open letter from the music industry is urging 18-34-year-olds to "Give an X", by registering to vote before 11:59AM today (April 16) for the UK Mayoral Elections next month.

Six million young people attended festivals and electronic music events last year — though according to statistics, the same amount did not register to vote in the last Mayoral Election.

To tackle this, a number of UK-based festivals, electronic acts, publications and nightlife venues, have signed an open letter urging their communities to register to vote.

Among signees on Give an X's open letter are Annie Mac, BICEP, AVA Festival, Mixmag, Block9, The Cause, HAAi, Foundation FM and many, many more.

Register to vote, here.

Read the full open letter below and on Give an X's website.

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.

Register here: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter