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The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had an extremely negative impact on the world economy. While a small group of niches has benefited, the vast majority have been affected, and in others, the impact has been directly devastating. The Music Industry, unfortunately, falls into the latter group.
Because no adventurer can predict with certainty how long the most devastating health crisis of the last century will last: two weeks? One month? ... until the arrival of summer? At the end of the day, we are not talking about a setback or an anomaly in the calendar. But something that threatens to take its toll on different levels: personal and family, social and lifestyle, as well as macroeconomic and geopolitical.
Negative (and some positive) effects of the coronavirus on music
The precedent has already been set in the United States with two very influential quotes. The first to cancel was the SXSW, whose director, Roland Swenson, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, declared that the enormous losses that the cancellation entails prevent him from confirming with certainty its celebration next year.
The other great lighthouse on Trump's land in terms of music festivals is Coachella, which has also been forced to modify initial plans and move until October.
There is already a website that indicates the festivals and big events that have been falling. Here, for the moment, both Primavera Sound and Sónar have issued statements underlining that they intend to celebrate the events on the calendar dates but that they are open to any scenario according to the provisions set by the health institutions that watch over this serious matter of the coronavirus in music.
Faced with this volatile situation, and the fragility of these companies in defending themselves in the face of the exceptional moment in which we live, it hurts to imagine the challenge that would entail solving the booking crossword puzzles and balancing artists' agendas on new dates if they were finally prevented from holding them as they were. It is now stipulated and that without taking into account the millionaire compensation that its cancellation can cause.
On the other hand, there are also rays of light in this whole story. For example, the initiatives born in the face of the challenging situation have begun to proliferate in the online world.
Laudable gestures to keep people clear during this storm that affects the spirits of many. Thus, the aforementioned SXSW has uploaded part of its film program to the cloud as a minimum measure to encourage contact between directors, press, and purchasing agents, and, hopefully, draw a purchase and sale signature.
Beyond these minimal placebos, the lock that the coronavirus imposes on live music will have direct consequences for the small companies and freelancers that manage the venues, as well as for the workers who give them life. but also for the musicians who live off bowling and merchandise offered in the halls.
While waiting to know the economic measures that the Government is taking to alleviate the effects of the crisis in the sector, all agents will have to tighten their belts in the face of very steep curves.
Difficult times are ahead. The consequences of COVID-19 will be resounding. They even threaten to leave a mark after the storm subsides - both sanitary requirements in theaters, as reductions in capacity at concerts and festivals, and other measures that prevent a new outbreak of spread.
The light at the end of the tunnel right now seems very far away, but it will come. And when it clears up, we will reposition ourselves in the front rows to vibrate and jump. Those sensations and emotions on the surface will not be taken away by anything or anyone.
The secret to surviving the pandemic
It is the question that musical artists had to ask themselves when they understood the situation so compromised in which they found themselves. For example, the Twitch platform increased its audience by 31% in just 2 weeks, between March 8 and 22 of this year.
So, there are ways to entertain people. The transmission of video at the user level has presented a constant increase in traffic since March 19. Consulting Javier García, CEO of the Free Music Projects platform, a company specializing in music downloads without copyright for the creation of videos on social networks, confirms an increase in the number of music downloads for video synchronization during the pandemic months.
How artists are coping as shows canceled due to lockdown?
Since there are endless shows are canceled around the world due to pandemics, this is how music and live entertainment industries engaging fans and making money.
Livestreams
This is one of the fantastic ways to interact with fans and bring them closer to their favorite artists. There are many popular artists who have taken advantage of the live streaming platforms as the possibilities are endless.
Live streams can also be a good source of revenue and thanks to fans who make donations online. For example, DJ and well-known Twitch Streamer JVNA raised recently $18k from one of her Twitch streams to donate to COVID-19 research.
Virtual Concerts
After the pandemic happened, many artists switched their concerts to social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and OnlyFans. So far, artists that have performed virtual concerts include Camilla Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Niall Horan, Pink, Keith Urban, John Legend, and Coldplay.
How to support musicians at this time?
It is possible to do it, necessarily and intrinsically human. Music is necessary for any industry. Advertising, radio, television, the Internet, etc are ways of generating rights and benefits for artists and creators.
The virus will go away, but music will always remain in our lives. We do not know what the future holds for the Music industry, but we do know that music and art are vital necessities!
