The COVID-19 pandemic has throttled many industries not the least of which is the music industry. Touring has come to a complete halt which is how most musicians earn a living. Even if you talk about multi-platinum artists, their real bread and butter is touring. Now, we’re not worried about the John Legend’s of the world, they’ll come out of this ok. But the small to mid level artists are really hurting.
As a music fan, there are ways you can support them. Many artists are doing live streams on Facebook or other platforms and setting up “tip jars” this is a great way to help them stay afloat. Other artists are still releasing music, so maybe you can contribute to a Kickstarter Campaign or use a site like Patreon where you can support the artists you love.
An interesting side effect of all of this is that people are honing in on their creative sides. People who never picked up a paint brush are discovering their inner Monet, others are knitting and still others are discovering their inner songwriter. To those people we say use this time to experiment, write and find your voice. There are plenty of home recording platforms and software, you can easily write and record your music without ever leaving the house. If you’re a singer, but don’t write music, find a musician to collaborate with. And for those that have some material recorded, you can use a platform like MusicGorilla.com to seek placement in film, tv shows, commercials and other media. All of which is still happening. If you’re an artist, do an Instagram Live or Facebook Live and take requests from your fans. Use this time to build your fan base on all different social platforms. People want to discover new artists and songs that speak to them in this time, take advantage of that and engage with those people; you can build fans for life.
Most importantly, this is a stressful time for people. Between the division we’re feeling in the country, the loss of work, virtual schooling, and the many other adjustments we’ve all made, let music bring us together. Play your kids your favorite songs from when you were a kid, introduce them to the classic artists (I’m talking Rolling Stones, not necessarily Mozart – but to each their own). Find holiday music by your favorite artists. Use the power of music to become closer to friends, to family, to strangers. Music has no boundaries, it has no hierarchy or exclusions. To me, it sounds like exactly what we need right now.
As a co-founder of MusicGorilla.com, Alexia Erlichman has helped build one of the leading commercial marketplaces for independent musicians and their work. With Music Gorilla, Alexia has merged her passion for networking, commitment to the independent movement and a decade of career success in the entertainment industry to create a service that helps artists get their songs heard and licensed by labels, music publishers and players in the television, film, advertising and Web/gaming industries. A native New Yorker, Alexia graduated from NYU and spent years in production roles for Miramax Films, Tribeca Productions (Robert DeNiro), Creative Film Management, Robert Rodriguez/Elizabeth Avellan and the Executive Producer Lynda Obst. She and Music Gorilla co-founder Lawrence Erlichman recently moved back to their native East Coast where they live with their rambunctious rescue dog, Crusoe.