Lockdown and the music industry.

With current events across the world many of us are wondering what the future holds, people have lost their jobs and acquiring a regular wage seems like a distant memory to others.

Through the restrictions laid upon us by our Governments there has been one thing which I personally believe has helped, that is the Arts, this covers a wide spectrum of careers some of which have spanned decades.

The movies and television shows you watch were created by artists and writers, actors and production staff, the music you listen to was created by musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers and mixers,photographers and artists were hired to create the cover art, the pictures on your wall, the books, articles, magazines and newspapers you read.

These are all part of the "Arts" even the games you play on your computer, phone or console and yet people talk about the arts as though they are expendable, artists and creators are treated as though their time and work isn't a valued commodity.

Even before the lockdown of society the notion of working for exposure seemed to be rife among those who don't have the talent or skills, and now? those who did make a living from the arts have found themselves having to claim benefits or look for other ways to bring in an income.

There has been an influx of live streams appearing on Facebook alone, Musicians who relied on touring for their income are now faced with performing to a camera or phone in their own homes, hinting to their audience that they can "tip" cash or purchase merchandise among their chatting and performing of music.

There seems to have been no change in the amount of downloads or physical sales of albums/singles and even when there was the contributing artist/s would make very little for their efforts, so where does this leave the music industry?

Or should I say the music business as it ceased to be an industry some time ago in my opinion, the one thing that has occurred however is it is now easier than ever to have some intimate verbal contact with musicians than it was before the lockdown, the live streams enable the viewer to chat to the performer and this has proven to bring both closer together.

I have been watching Mr Johnny A on almost a daily basis, Johnny is known as a very talented guitarist and has played with the Yardbirds, Peter Wolf and Bobby Whitlock to name just a few of the artists he has worked with.

I found Johnny's Live streams a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, there is usually a minimum of 100 people watching and chatting away to him as he plays his stunning guitars and gives us all a taste of his fantastic playing, sometimes he will teach those of us who play guitar a little something, the riff for Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love or perhaps some Beatles or Eric Clapton.

Its like being sat in the same room with a person you admire, I have learned more about Johnny as a person since this lockdown from his many tales of a Rock n Roll lifestyle, meeting his own musical icons and it has made me appreciate his music even more.

Johnny A is just one of many musicians following the live stream route, some of the lesser known artists such as Andy Robbins who's latest EP I reviewed on Vocal in April of this year (2020) have also been entertaining us with live streams, some performing in their gardens or streets so their neighbors can hear.

Another new phenomenon which has appeared are the lockdown collaborations, musicians from across the world have been joining together from their own homes by recording a video of themselves playing the same song, this is then edited together to create a single video/song track.

This then provides the viewer with a new experience to performance, imagine seeing Brian May of Queen fame, Jen Majura from Evanescence and Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy performing the classic Queen song We are the champions together?

A pipe dream I hear you say, but that is exactly what happened on May 18th 2020, the video was released on YouTube by LSwFF (live Streams with Famous Friends) and currently has had 18,852 views in four days, this is really worth a watch/listen.

Returning to Johnny A, it was announced a few days ago that there will be an upcoming "drive in" gig featuring Johnny which may be a way forward (for those who own/have access to cars) for musicians to still perform outdoor concerts, more information on this can be found on Johnny A official Facebook page (The Real Johnny A) and on his website johnnya.com .

So is this the way forward for music artists? or is this just a means to an end to carry us through until a time comes that they can return to the studio or the stage?

Personally I enjoy these live streams and collaborations but I wasn't able to get to many big concerts before the lockdown so to me this is an opportunity to see someone play live that I wouldn't normally have the opportunity (or funds) to see.

I can however see that the attraction and atmosphere of a live concert isn't there with live streams, it isn't the same as smelling the sweat and seeing the enjoyment on others faces around you as they bounce around, sing or dance while their icons stand only feet away.

Yes the world is in a sorry state and music isn't the only industry/business to suffer in these times but without music the world would be a much duller and silent place, in these times if you can spare it, support your local musician, artist, writer or anyone else who works in the arts industry.

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