đ· COVID-19 sparks streaming growth in Japan; Arrests over illegal raves in UK; UK live biz calls for VAT exemption, timelines, support package; Quadrupling reach through drive-in concerts
Daily update for the music business on the coronavirus (July 3)
Survey: Covid-19 is sparking music streaming growth in Japan (Music Ally)
Music Ally Japanâs survey also suggests that the Japanese industry is seeing a growth in streaming not just from younger listeners, but from older demographics too. One of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be helping streaming to find a broader audience in Japan.
#LetTheMusicPlay: UK biz mobilises to call for aid (IQ)
The UK live music industry is asking for:
A clear, conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing
A comprehensive business and employment support package and access to finance
Full VAT exemption on ticket sales
Marc Rebillet Quadruples His Reach With Drive-In Concert Tour (Billboard)
Rebillet played 12 concerts in nine cities, touring the nation from June 9-28. Venue capacity ranged from 350 to 600 cars, generally the same number of tickets he was selling in standing-room-only venues in 2019. But while the drive-in capacity (by number of cars) was similar to that of the clubs that Rebillet was playing last year, multiple passengers per car expanded his audience two-to-three times over. The tour operated on a two-ticket minimum per car and a four-ticket maximum, allowing each showâs gross to surge beyond his history in each market.
Nyege Nyege Festival to host online African art and music showcase (RA)
In tandem with the digital version, which will run from September 3rd to 6th, an in-person festival in Uganda will also occur. Generally held on Nile Discovery Beach in Jinja, this year's location hasn't been announced as organizers wait for an August update from the country's health ministry on COVID-19 safety regulations for public gatherings.
How WMEâs Richard Weitz Raised Millions for COVID-19 Relief With âQuarantunesâ Concerts (Variety)
The pair (Richard and his daughter Demi) discuss the spark for the fundraising effort, hurdles they overcame to make sure the private Zoom performances didnât infringe on copyrights and how they recruited partners such as Goldman Sachs and Alliance Bernstein to help drive big-dollar donations.
Social Distance Jams: How Musicians Play Together Online with JamKazam (Music Tectonics)
Long before COVID-19, JamKazam helped bands stay together even when members moved away. Find out how JamKazam is saving the sanity of many more musicians sheltering at home, especially with a new live broadcasting feature that lets them earn tips and ticket revenue.
Three people have been arrested for organising illegal raves in the UK (Mixmag)
The arrests have been made as part of a UK wide crackdown on illegal raves that have sprung up as lockdown restrictions ease and good summer weather rolls in.
Thoughts
Iâm seeing a lot of âprivate eventâ raves emerging, including ones with full line-ups that youâd normally see in a techno club, without any of the required social distancing and hygiene measures. Itâs disappointing, but was bound to happen. People are anxious about winter lockdowns and think things arenât as bad as they seemed before (US excluded), not realizing that itâs due to the safety measures put in place before. Here in Berlin, some of the park gatherings are too large to shut down easily.
Perhaps professional organisers have a role to play here: they understand crowds, intoxication, security, logistics. Iâm curious whether governments will turn to sanctioned, professionally organised events to counter the trend of raves which take zero precautions.For the techies: Matt Strobel whoâs president of MusicTech Germany just launched a global Music Tech Directory that aims to list every organisation at the intersection of music & tech. Tech.. err check it out.
Music
I put this together while listening to Lamb Kebab & DJ GHEPARDâs new Dream Eaters EP. Itâs a great work of deconstructed club music which âdraws inspiration from RPG video-games and explores the possibilities of sound as a virtual space for the artists to freely channel their darkest emotions and personal experience.â Coincidentally, they were the last live performance I saw before the lockdown.
P.S. Itâs Bandcamp Friday.
MUSIC x CORONA goes out every weekday and is composed by Bas Grasmayer and Maarten Walraven.
â€ïžÂ musicxtechxfuture.com - musicxgreen.com - linkedin Bas - linkedin Maarten