As venues, tours, and festivals shut down in response to aggressive public health measures aimed at flattening the COVID-19 curve, musicians who rely on live gigs for revenue are among the groups hardest hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. That burden is being felt throughout the industry, from major artists and event producers to touring indie bands trying to grind out a living, to student bands at Berklee looking for a break.
We've taken a pretty huge hit as far as income goes, says James Duncan, a contemporary writing and production major at Berklee and a member of the student band Raavi & the Houseplants. We really make most of our money and spend most of our time playing shows. The band was slated to play a handful of dates in Austin, Texas, this month during the South by Southwest festival, but they canceled as it became clear that the festival would not go forward this year. I know a few other bands who had to cancel much bigger plans, like career-changing stuff, he says, and my heart goes out to them. But Duncan takes some solace in the fact that the band is not alone, and that the measures being taken now are being undertaken for the best of reasons. Cancelling our dates was heartbreaking. All musicians are in the same boat, however, so I've found comfort in that. It's kind of beautiful how quickly everyone came to be on the same page in solidarity with our communities' most vulnerable members.
The economic and professional fallout is not limited to the artists themselves. Jeff Dorenfeld, a professor in the Music Business/Management Department at Berklee and the founding managing director of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, notes that the tour personnel who support large tours and shows are also out of work until the tour is able to ramp up and start, which is obviously an unknown. Under a normal cancellation, musicians and support personnel could find other jobs to carry them over, but businesses including restaurants, clubs, bars, etc are also shutting down.
Of course, many beyond the music industry will find themselves hit hard over the coming weeks and months by these extraordinary circumstances of social distancing and restricted travel. It will be up to all of us through this period to seek out ways to strengthen our communities-local, national, and global; economic and artistic. So, if you find yourself with time or funds to spare, and you're looking for a way to support musicians and industry professionals affected by this crisis, here are some places to start:
1. Buy Music (and Be Mindful of Where You're Getting It) To cope with the disappointment of your favorite act cancelling their tour, consider buying one of their albums online. The revenue from album sales greatly outstrips the revenue most artists see from streaming-even more so if you seek out those artists on an e-commerce site such as Bandcamp, which takes a smaller cut of the sale than many online retailers, allows artists to set their own prices, and allows purchasers to pay more than the asking price if they so choose. The quickest way to put money in your favorite bands' pocket is to buy stuff on Bandcamp, because they only take a small fee, and that has historically been the biggest source of online revenue for us, says Duncan.
2. Keep Streaming While it's true that revenue from sources such as Spotify or Amazon Music often amounts to fractions of a penny per play, there's no denying that those fractions can eventually add up. We are touring musicians dependent on gigs (social gatherings of preferably 50+ people) for our livelihoods. Passive income like streaming and internet sales is not reliable, but in times like these it is greatly appreciated, explained Berklee alumni band Lula Wiles (Eleanor Buckland '15, Isa Burke B.M. '16, Mali Obomsawin '14) in an Instagram post this week. Many people will find themselves in difficult financial situations in the coming weeks; if it's all you can do to press play on some beloved underground artist's latest release, know that it helps.
3. Stay Connected It could be that we are about to witness musics livestreaming renaissance. Artists are looking for new ways to connect with their fans across this new social distance, and, Dorenfeld says he's already seeing artists reach out in creative ways. Chris Martin of Coldplay developed a concert series from home via Instagram Live. As did John Legend. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie is livestreaming a solo acoustic set from his Washington home every afternoon for two weeks. Metalcore band Code Orange streamed a full concert at an empty venue on Twitch. As time goes on, artists will continue to reach out to fans through online performances. Reach back. And if they ask for a donation for the performance and you have the means, consider chipping in.
4. Donate to Venues and Artist Relief Funds Many communities have already set up fundraising pages dedicated to supporting musicians and industry professionals through the COVID-19 crisis. Similarly, local venues and theaters in the Boston area including Great Scott, O'Brien's, and ONCE Somerville are raising funds online to support their employees. You can visit WBURs the ARTery for more information on fundraising efforts in Boston, or see NPR's extensive rundown of nationwide funds and other ways to support artists and music industry workers nationwide.
Related categories:
News
Related Reading
Berklee Online Berklee Today
Spring
2019
Volume
30
Number
3
New Law Could Help Cash Flow to Artists Berklee Today
Spring
2019
Volume
30
Number
3
Can You Land a Successful Career with a Performing Arts Degree? In an economy that rewards improvisation and entrepreneurship, well-trained artists and musicians are equipped to thrive.
More from Ber
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
14/07/2025
The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
14/07/2025
Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...
14/07/2025
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...
14/07/2025
Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...
14/07/2025
HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...
14/07/2025
Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...
14/07/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...
14/07/2025
Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...
14/07/2025
Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...
14/07/2025
Stand 5.F45, IBC2025, Amsterdam, 12 15 September 2025 Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is ...
14/07/2025
Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Da...
14/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on th...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025
Product
14 July 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
One percent of Internet Service Providers (ISP...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Begins Filming The Map of Longing With Al cia Falc , P...
14/07/2025
This July marks 100 days since I officially stepped into the role of CEO at Grass Valley, a milestone not of abrupt change, but of confident continuity.
Unlike...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
13/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Expands B&B Universe' with Yu Jae Seok's B&B ...
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, the professional training division of Key Code Media, proudly announces a major update to its Adobe Premiere Pro Engineering and Advanced Op...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, a leader in instructor-led post production training for over...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
As venues, tours, and festivals shut down in response to aggressive public health measures aimed at flattening the COVID-19 curve, musicians who rely on live gigs for revenue are among the groups hardest hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. That burden is being felt throughout the industry, from major artists and event producers to touring indie bands trying to grind out a living, to student bands at Berklee looking for a break.
