Matt Walden – Luna Artist
What a time to be alive. It’s kind of wild how in a short 2 week period, I had the main source of my income as a musician taken away… Playing live gigs. But – I know I’m not the only one. If you’re keeping up with the news, the coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19 has been a worldwide pandemic leading the world to almost “pause” or enter a state of quarantine to prevent themselves or others from getting the virus.
Where does this leave working musicians? Personally speaking, I keep asking myself how long I can survive without playing bar/restaurant/ticketed/house gigs. According to my profit and loss from 2019, 50% of my income was from performances at bars/restaurants. For a lot of other musicians, that could easily be 75%-100% of their livelihood. This means, the next few months of them trying to contain the virus will continue to not only make it difficult for myself, but many other working musicians.
Believe me when I say I understand the world is in a bit of a pickle and musicians are not the only ones feeling as if their jobs are in peril. I got off the phone with my mom a few days ago and her job had let her go because they simply could not keep her hired with the lack of income they were making through this. Many small businesses as well as larger ones are suffering from this worldwide phenomenon. We all could use some help right now, and the best thing to do is stay inside, wash your hands, and only go out if it’s absolutely necessary. Stopping the spread of this virus will help us to contain it, alleviate the stress in the hospitals and bring us back to our everyday lives.
If you would like to help, there are quite a few ways musicians are trying to make the best of this tough financial situation:
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Follow them on Spotify + play/save their songs
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This helps tremendously with playlisting and getting their music out to a new audience as well as make a bit more $.
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Support them via livestreams
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Share their Twitch/Instagram streams, donate/tip them via Venmo/Paypal. Whatever you’re comfortable with! Just watching alone helps them be seen by more people aka potential fans.
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Patreon pages
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Pledge to their patreon pages if they have one, a monthly contribution of any amount can go a long way.
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Buy their merchandise
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The majority of our livelihoods are fueled by merchandise. This helps tremendously!!!
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Hire them for guitar/music lessons
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I’ve seen a few touring musicians in this boat. If you’re willing to take online lessons, this helps so much. Plus – it can be a great way to keep your kids or yourself busy while in quarantine!
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