Just how badly did Coronavirus impact the music and entertainment industry?

Written by: Kerri Ellis - Sense Music Media

The broad impact of the Coronavirus pandemic upon the music industry around the world has been profound, with the Australian music industry alone providing a very raw snapshot of the extent of the damage. Musicians, roadies, production crew, event organisers and venue operators are all on the front-line bearing the brunt of capacity restrictions and border closures… and that wasn’t all of it.

Key points:

• Survey finds people are considering leaving the Victorian music industry.

• Charities, such as Support Act and Roady4Roadies are doing what they can to assist those in desperate need within the music industry.

• The Australian Live Music Business Council is calling on governments to help people get back to work.

A survey found people are considering leaving the Victorian music industry. A new study looked at how the pandemic has impacted the Victorian music sector. The Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO) and the Victorian Office for Women, commissioned RMIT University to complete the study titled Understanding Challenges to the Victorian Music Industry During COVID-19. It found that 58 per cent (3 in 5) of respondents are considering leaving the industry.

Victoria’s music industry was not the only state affected by the pandemic.

When COVID-19 hit, the industries shattered the greatest were the entertainment, hospitality, and travel industries. Thousands and thousands of musicians, not just in Australia, but right across the world, no longer had work entertaining people the way they normally would.

Gigs, concerts, tours, and festivals were cancelled. In March 2020, venues – pubs, clubs, bars, and intimate music venues were told to shut their doors for six months. Traveling went into non-existence with borders closed between countries and between states. Not only could performing artists not tour interstate or overseas, but also suburb to suburb – even if venues were open, they could not go outside of certain zones.

Other forms of work had to be found by many. In some cases, instruments and equipment were sold just so that musicians had money for living. Other ways of entertaining were sought. Well known Australian artists Kate Ceberano and Delta Goodrem, streamed live music from their homes, as did many hundreds of performers from a range of different genres. One such example is outspoken progressive musician, front-man and activist Ezekiel Ox kicked things off on 3 April 2020 with a 24-hour livestream to lift public spirits and raise money. This is something which he continued to do on a smaller scale throughout the following months as livestreaming became the only way for musicians to engage personally with their audiences. The Original Sound Lounge (a Port Macquarie music community) created the Virtual Pub using a virtual tip jar, so that performers had gigs on-line and made some money to live on in those dire times.

Earlier this year, James Young, co-owner of Melbourne’s Cherry Bar said in an interview with The Industry Observer, “The walls are closing in. JobKeeper is scheduled to end later this month, when full rent and all our accumulated debts become due”, he adds, “all this while live music venues are still restricted to just 30% capacity.”

Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) fears that without an urgent national response to this national crisis, hundreds of businesses will close, and thousands of jobs will be lost in a matter of months.

The call comes as the ALMBC reveals the perilous state of the industry through its latest member survey. Completed early this year, the survey captures an industry struggling to recover 12 months after lockdowns and border closures brought the live music scene to a halt.

Those of the entertainment industry, have been crying out for help, for month after month, signing petition after petition. Some feel there is extraordinarily little indication from our government leaders that anything is going to change any time soon. To many within the music industry, the future looks bleak.

The most recent shock wave through this industry was the cancellation of Blues Fest less than 24 hours before it was to begin. The blues and roots music festival were supposed to go ahead with a COVID safety plan in place, but one corona virus case in the area brought the festival to its knees. CEO of Live Performance Australia, Evelyn Richardson, said “the festival had sustained a $10 million loss from the last-minute cancellation, which had seen many scrambling to recoup costs.”

Just 12 months later down the track, and it remains virtually unchanged. The industry is operating at less than 4 per cent of pre-COVID levels, a result of continual border closures, physical distancing regulations and snap lockdowns.

Widely popular and much loved Australian progressive metal band KARNIVOOL were forced to postpone their long-awaited Decade of Sound Awake tour from April 2020 to November and again to March 2021. Unfortunately, due to ongoing restrictions and uncertainty around border closures, they had no choice but to cancel once again and instead performed a livestream to an empty Heath Ledger Theatre from their home town of Adelaide. This is just one example of the music landscape right around the world.

Where can those in the music or entertainment industry turn in these dire times? Support Act is a charity that provides financial assistance and mental health support to music industry workers.

For those seeking help, Support Act offers financial assistance to music industry workers and has a 24-hour wellbeing helpline on 1800 959 500.

Roadies are the quiet achievers and unsung heroes of the live music events that many attend and enjoy. They set up the stage and all the equipment for the entertainers, then at the end of the show, they take it all down again. On 13 March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought live music to a complete standstill. All shows were cancelled and over 20,000 live production crew (roadies) found themselves without work.

Roady4Roadies is another charity outfit, who specifically are fundraising for Roadies and crew. Per their website, the aim of Roady4Roadies is to bring public awareness to the diverse range of highly technical and creative skills required to make our dreams come true and raise desperately needed funds to help those in crisis.

Roady4Roadies 2021, a fundraising activity by musicians, was held in 10 major cities across the country on Sunday 11 April 2021 in what has now become a truly national day for Roadies.

In late March, Australian Live Music Business Council called on all State and Territory governments to work with the sector to ease damaging restrictions on venues while working together to implement a national essential worker permit system to resuscitate the national touring circuit.

The music industry has welcomed a $135 million funding boost to help it restart post-COVID, though has urged the federal government to get the money out the door quickly due to the end of JobKeeper. An extra $10 million will go to Support Act

With the Government bodies stepping up to the cry of help, it is not just those within the industry that will benefit, but so will the people in our communities.

“Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the Universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety, and life to everything. It is the essence of order and leads to all that is good and just and beautiful.” – Plato