How Coronavirus Is Affecting Musicians - And How You Can Help!

Here's how coronavirus is affecting musicians, freelancers, artists, small businesses and the hospitality industry.

My linktree: https://bit.ly/basslinks

Tracy Brabin's contact page: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4588/contact

An Amazon Affiliate link for toilet roll: https://amzn.to/3d6R6M4
As you might expect, with countries going into coronavirus lockdown, places like bars, clubs, venues, theatres, restaurants, coffee shops and the like have been hit very hard.

I do want to make it very clear that lockdowns and social distancing are a good thing. The health of citizens and the protection of our most vulnerable is always going to be the most important thing at a time like this.

But as a result of the lockdowns, many freelancers who make their living at large social gatherings, teaching in schools or working in theatres have been left unable to work.

Here in the UK, pretty much every gig at every level of the industry has been cancelled or postponed. And due to the way the postponement was brought about the workers it's affected aren't able to make insurance claims or get compensation for the cancellations.

I don't want to discuss the politics here because this isn't a political channel. So if you want to read more about the political side of this then check out this link.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-pms-advice-to-avoid-theatres-is-crippling-blow-to-creative-industry-11958725

At a time like this, there is plenty you can do to help these freelancers.

You might think "I can't give money to anyone. I have my own bills to pay" and that's a totally legitimate objection. The entertainment and hospitality sectors aren't the only ones who've been hit. So the first thing you can do costs no money at all.

1. Write To You Local Politicians

Across the world, there have been some wonderful people in politics who have recognised the difficult situation this industry is in. They have campaigned for mortgage payments to be suspended, for financial aid, for rent to be frozen.

Write to these people and give them your support. Sign their petitions saying "the work artists do is really important to me and I want to make sure they have some protection".

If you live in the UK, contact Tracy Brabin. She's currently lobbying for the UK's freelance and the self-employed workforce to receive financial aid.

If you live elsewhere in the world and you know a politician doing similar work then please leave the a leave to their contact page in the comments. I'll pin it and then others from another country can get in touch with the right people.

2. Buy Your Shopping Through Your Freelancers Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are one way that a lot of freelancers generate extra income. Artists will often leave affiliate links to the equipment they use on their websites, in their videos or to create their work.

In case you don't know, an affiliate link is a special link that a freelancer creates to a certain product. People then click that link and when they buy anything from that online store, the freelancer will get a commission.

One of the most popular is the Amazon Affiliate programme.

Now you might think, I don't need to buy music products at a time like this. But here's the beauty of the programme. The person who creates the link will get a commission on anything you buy within 24 hours of clicking on the link.

So when you're stocking up on last-minute food essentials or bored at home self-isolating and you want to watch a movie, find a freelancer's affiliate links (they're usually labelled), click it and then order your stuff like normal.

It doesn't cost you any more money and it doesn't affect your sale in any way at all. But it will help to support an artist.

If you're an artist watching this, sign up for the Amazon Affiliate programme!

3. Buy Something From Your Favourite Artists

If you're lucky enough to have some extra money at this time or you're able to work from home then either buy something direct from an artists store, join their Patreon for a month, ask to buy $10 of credit at your local independent coffee shop or reach out to an artist and ask for a private lesson.

If you've always wanted to know how to paint, to draw, to sign, to learn how to cook, learn an instrument or get feedback on your music, now really is the time.

It looks like people the world over are going to be stuck inside for weeks with nothing to do so why not use that time to learn a new skill?

Almost every freelancer I can think of will have contact details online or a social media presence. Email them or leave a comment on their posts saying "I'd love to learn to do what you do. Could I buy an hour of your time so you can show me?".

No matter which option you choose, all of these will help.

And if you can think of any other ways to help, leave them in the comments. I'll pin them and hopefully, the message will spread.

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