Mike Skinner thinks the live music scene has been an ''absolute bloodbath'' in recent months.

The 41-year-old star acknowledges that the coronavirus lockdown has had a dramatic impact on the music industry, but he's trying to remain as upbeat as possible.

Mike - who is taking part in drive-in gigs across the UK in July and August while venues remain closed - explained: ''There's two sides to my work life, there's recorded music and then there's live music.

''It's been quite strange because on one side it's completely the same, pretty much. And then on the live side, it's an absolute bloodbath.

''We're doing a drive-in tour and I'm trying to sort of keep it together, really, and, well, get everyone paid.

''I think empathy is something that we've all found in ourselves during this lockdown that some of us I don't think really thought we even had. And that's a beautiful thing. But, yeah, there's been winners from this and boy are there losers.

''I think some things have just been fast-forwarded five years to the place that they were going to end up anyway. And other things, like perhaps live music and theatre, have just had an incredibly tough time of it.''

Mike believes ''people need live music'', and he's ultimately confident that a compromise can be found that safeguards the future of the industry.

Speaking to Sky News, he added: ''People need theatre. So I'm confident that it will be alright in the end, but there's going to be a lot of hustling and, yeah, I think the news is going to turn to these people that really can't pay the bills.''