Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
March 2020
As we all try to survive in this era of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, where many are seeing their income cut or eliminated due to being laid-off or because you’re an independent contractor, don’t forget about the hard-working musicians who play the music we all love to hear.
It’s a great misconception that everyone who is a working musician is a multi-millionaire. A lot of musicians out there, especially the Indie bands or the ones just starting out, are working paycheque to paycheque or slightly better, just like the rest of us. Even the more established musicians have seen their income from recording royalties severely cut due to low physical sales, which is why you see a lot of older bands touring more than they did at the height of their fame.
Mick Jagger doesn’t need the money, but there are many others who can’t sustain themselves quite as long without some money coming in.
Sometimes any extra money must be put back into their business (bands and solo artists are a business), buying needed equipment or upgrading old equipment.
For a lot of musicians playing in the clubs and halls, most if not all of their income comes from playing live, something that is being put on hold for everyone, with no end date in site. Those who have made music their full-time job won’t have a “day-job” to go to; or those that do may have been laid-off from the “day-job.”
If your favorite Indie band of artist has merchandise for sale on their web sites, consider buying a t-shirt or a CD from the band. That way, they will at least have some money coming in. It may not make much of a difference, but every little bit helps.
If they have songs on the radio, call your local radio station and request their song, especially if the band/artist wrote it themselves, so they will have some royalty money coming in too.
