By Martine Ehrenclou
It was as if everyone’s concert calendar was wiped clean by the end of last week. Within a few days, the coronavirus pandemic had caused cancellations and postponements of so many of our favorite artists’ shows. With tickets in hand, many of us were in shock. Then the reality kicked in about what sweeping cancellations across the globe means for these musicians. Working musicians depend on their concert tours to keep themselves financially afloat. Cancelled shows mean cancelled incomes. Indie and DYI musicians are especially hard hit.
After giant festivals such as SXSW were cancelled, followed by Coachella and Stagecoach postponements to October, the shockwaves were felt across the entire music business, and the world. See Billboard’s ongoing list of major concert and event cancellations here.
Live Nation Entertainment and AEG Presents, major promoters of music festivals and shows, said on Thursday they would halt all of its North American tours in response to the coronavirus pandemic through at least the end of March. Live Nation stated that they plan to assess the COVID-19 situation in April. Nederlander Concerts also suspended activities through the end of the month.
At the end of last week, state governors and officials had declared states of emergency and implemented restrictions or bans on gatherings of people over certain numbers for periods of time. The NBA was the first major sports league in the U.S. to cancel playing season. The NHL also announced its season cancellation, along with the MLB, PGA Tour, The Masters, Major League Soccer, Boston Marathon, and many more.
One of the most challenging aspects of the coronavirus pandemic is the uncertainty about how long it will continue.
With the sweeping cancellations of concerts and music shows, many musicians have lost their major sources of income. There are many who need our help.
Here’s What You Can Do
Buy the artist’s music directly from their website or places like Bandcamp, where the income goes directly to the artist/band. Buy their music, merch, t-shirts and more.
Pre-order new albums from artists/bands from their websites, or from other online retailers.
Maintain a credit for your concert tickets instead of a refund that will apply to rescheduled concerts and shows. Keep your tickets for rescheduled shows.
Some artists/bands have created Kickstarter, Patreon, Indiegogo and ArtistShare campaigns so you can contribute.
Some artists are offering other ways to bring in income during this time such as private music lessons and more. One such artist is the blues rock award-winning guitarist, Artur Menezes, who posted a video on Facebook yesterday expressing his hopes that everyone will stay healthy. He also explained that for the independent musician, he and others rely on tours for income, which have been cancelled in North America, Europe, Canada and more. He’s hoping to play those shows but he also wants everyone to be safe. He is offering private one-on-one lessons on Skype and has special lesson packages as well. See Artur’s video. I’m sure other musicians will offer private lessons or other ways to supplement the lost income from tour cancellations and more.
Keep track of your favorite artists who are now embarking on Facebook Live shows or other live stream shows on the internet. We can support them in this way and it makes a difference. Track them on social media if you aren’t already and check in on their social media pages for live shows on the internet. Devon Allman, of the Allman Betts Band, posted on his Facebook page about going live on the internet for a series of solo acoustic shows. He wrote, “The thought of not playing live for a month or two is really disheartening. So I’m gonna grab my white Gibson acoustic guitar and go live on the internet for a series of solo acoustic shows. We can hang out, shoot the breeze, tell stories, take requests, and have some fun during these crazy times. Nothing is keeping me from playing music for y’all & spending my time with y’all. Details to come.” See his post here.
Share your favorite artists/bands’ music on social media. Get the word out about your favorite artists and share their music. Enthusiasm is infectious.
Share the artists/bands live stream events on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. Share their rescheduled shows as well.
Subscribe to music channels and mailing lists for your favorite artists. If you sign up for an artist’s/band’s mailing list, it is an act of support that doesn’t involve putting out cash. The organic reach for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is very small. Artists/bands have to pay to promote their posts. Signing up for their mailing lists on their websites allows artists/bands to share info with you without having to shell out cash. Sign up to their YouTube pages—this helps with algorithms and also means you’ll be notified when they have new videos, music and live events.
Your suggestions on how to help our favorite artists/bands are certainly welcomed. Please comment in the comment area below so everyone can see them.
At Rock and Blues Muse we so value and appreciate musicians and attending their live shows. Now, we want everyone to be safe and follow the CDC Guidelines and WHO Guidelines
The coronavirus is temporary and this will pass.
My wish for you is to stay well and take care of yourself and others. This is the time to practice kindness. May kindness lead you to support your favorite musicians in any of the ways above, or in ways I haven’t thought of.
Martine
Great post Martine! I hope all of our Facebook group will heed the call. I will certainly do my part.
John
Thank you. I hope so too. I’ll do my part too.
Jeff,
Thanks. I’ll follow through with some too.
All great suggestions! There’s also many musicians right now luving gig to gig, 5 guys in the middle of a six-week van tour, 2,500 miles from home, no money, no gas, & now no gig.
Don,
There is an Fundraiser called Artist Relief Tree (ART) by Morgan Brophy that is helping musicians in need. Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/donate/1080011789032749/ Maybe they can help.
Here is the link to request funds. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScH1U4u4m0-33NySVZrvkrbxbJE_2ZRxeJAxHlboQGNGqEfkA/viewform
I was going through your weekly email, which I love. I always try to find the artists on iTunes as I buy my music there. Their Blues section is a joke they haven’t updated in months. I start with current artists and then try to link to artists in your articles. Sometimes I just Google the artist and iTunes.
Anyway, the reason I am writing this is because I got sidetracked on my hunt and saw something I haven’t thought of in Years!
The Blues Brothers! I forgot how fun they were. I though about buying Briefcase Full of Blues and then remembered they had a second album called Made in America. Then I came across The Blues Brothers album. It is both albums and a few extra songs. Talk about a super deal! In Canada it is $10.99, plus tax for 28 songs.
I am currently breaking in a new (headphone) tube amp and this will sound great on it.
I find these little gems while reading your weekly email and exploring new territory and occasionally find some old favourites!
Thank you Martine!
Shane,
I haven’t seen The Blues Brothers in a while. Thanks for the tip. I’m so glad you enjoy the weekly email. Awesome. Thanks for commenting.
I already participate in some of the suggestions in your article, and will pick out a couple of other ways to support some of my favorite artists. We need their talents more now than ever, and the music is sounding better in these trying times. Thanks to Rock and Blues Muse for keeping us informed and up to date, on the soundtrack to our lives!