🦠 #BetterMusicCities; Will music survive Brexit and Covid-19; Solo for Flute, Airport Terminal and One Listener; Audio streaming diverts to video; More than a game,Minecraft Festival is a blockbuster
Daily update for the music business on the coronavirus (May 14)
#BetterMusicCities, or, The music cities resilience handbook (Sound Diplomacy)
Today, Sound Diplomacy releases a new policy document to encourage cities to better leverage their music economies to create more inclusive, prosperous music communities from recovery. Inside the handbook is a guide, a nine-point plan, and there’s also an open letter you can use to address your local government leaders outlining the value of music, how to engage with it, and the outcomes it can deliver.
The music sector will not survive COVID-19 and Brexit without an extension to the transition period (Incorporated Society of Musicians)
The report’s findings, coupled with the impact of COVID-19, demonstrate a sector at a crossroads, in clear need of support from the Government to secure its survival. The outbreak of COVID-19 has had disastrous consequences for the music sector with cancellations, closures and the loss of work and livelihoods overnight. The UK music sector, which contributes £5.2bn to the economy each year, is facing ruin from the dual threats of COVID-19 and Brexit.
As many as 92% of independent festivals could go out of business this summer without government action, says AIF (CMU)
Predicting that at least 90% of UK festivals will not go ahead this year, the AIF says that the sector at large is facing having to pay out refunds of up to £800 million. Its members, it adds, have – on average – unrecoupable costs of £375,000, with 98.5% not covered for a COVID-19-related cancellation by their insurance. Those festivals that do survive expect to have to make 59% of their staff redundant after September this year.
Solo for Flute, Airport Terminal and One Listener (New York Times)
Ms. Winker said in a telephone interview that she had come up with the idea for one-on-one shows last year while thinking of new ways to put on concerts at a chamber music festival. She had been inspired by Marina Abramovic, the performance artist, whose 2010 work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, involved the artist staring into the eyes of anyone who sat opposite her.
Music Discovery Rises in Popularity Amid Pandemic, Study Finds (Pitchfork)
While 84% of people say they listened to music that they usually listen to, 43% say they are listening to new music from artists they’ve never listened to before. Meanwhile, music video streams are up 10% from the average. The study also finds that the country, children, and classical genres have seen an increase in listeners. While 23% of respondents say that they have canceled a subscription streaming service in the past two weeks, 27% of those surveyed said they have added a new subscription service.
In the US and UK, Audio Streaming Has Diverted to Video During Coronavirus Lockdown (emarketer)
Our latest 2020 time spent forecasts indicate substantial bumps across media due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the time people spend with TV, social media and digital video will see a boost, the picture for digital audio isn't as positive.
More than a game, Minecraft music festival is a blockbuster (Variety)
The entertainment value lacking in most at-home performances, however, opens the door to a music festival set within a game … Although raising money for coronavirus relief has been the most tangible outcome of these Minecraft festivals, artists and music lovers alike are looking to them as a blueprint for live music in a post-pandemic world, as well as a catalyst for much-needed change in the music industry.
Making Music Out Of The Coronavirus (NPR)
Years ago, Markus Buehler developed a method to model proteins through music. So, when he heard about the spike proteins on the novel coronavirus, he wondered: what does it sound like?
AWAL partners with Zoom & United Nations for COVID-19 response (MusicBusinessWorldwide)
Over the coming months, select AWAL artists will support the UN’s efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus through Zoom. This will include VIP artist meet and greets, customized Zoom virtual backgrounds fans can download, and more.
Those slick quarantine band performances are harder to pull off than you think (Billboard)
The easiest way to make these kinds of performances is with access to trained sound engineers and state-of-the-art production software … "I know there's people saying they're doing it on Zoom. I don't buy any of that," Castellano says, by phone from quarantine in Staten Island, N.Y. "Musicians are used to this. It's overdubbing."
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Thoughts
Two big pop artists have spoken out about depression and anxiety during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Very laudable and hopefully will help other artists to speak out about this. Shout out to Charli XCX and Katie Perry.
We spoke a lot about Fortnite in this newsletter, and now HouseParty will host a virtual music festival. Epic Games owns both of these companies and we’ll do well to keep an eye on them when it comes new models for the music industry.
MUSIC x CORONA goes out every weekday and is composed by Bas Grasmayer and Maarten Walraven.
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