The pandemic has hit people incredibly hard in 2020, especially artists and creators. The inability to tour has had a significant impact on revenue and income for this group across the board, regardless of whether they’re just starting out or a well-established artist. According to Deloitte Insights, the live music and concert industry will lose about $9 billion USD this year. Thankfully, the Recording Academy has stepped up and offered free resources. We had a chance to discuss these initiatives with Lisa Farris, their Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer.
The struggle for artists isn’t limited to the absence of touring. Each level of experience has its challenges. New and emerging artists are wondering how they’re going to pay bills, large/established artists need to figure out whether this is the right time to put out an album and make up for lost revenue, and mid-level artists who were about to hit the next level are left wondering what their next step should be. This also has a downstream impact to songwriters, those working on a tour, managers, etc.
When COVID-19 first hit, the Recording Academy launched several initiatives. MusiCares provided emergency services for musicians in need. Whether they were on tour already and stuck in another country, contracted COVID, or thought they were going on tour and needed emergency money, the program offered assistance. Additionally, the advocacy team made sure artists could get funds through the CARES act.
“It was a beautiful moment where everyone came together to try and not only raise money, but help creators during this time,” Farris said of the companies like Twitch and StageIt who reached out to help. “And I felt like I was so fortunate to be able to be on the phone with some of these people who were talking about what they were building,” she said, excited about the new product offerings for artists.
Education for a Long-Term Solution
Both initiatives were stop-gaps and temporary measures, not meant for long term. Farris said they wanted to continue to help artists and provide a long-term solution. “This is so much a passion project for us in terms of really taking a look at the marketplace right now during COVID and seeing what creators are going through and really understanding their needs,” she said.
The Recording Academy launched Pro>Sessions, a special online series to educate artists on navigating this new reality, with the goal of looking at business in a different way when people are stuck in their homes and unable to tour. Farris stated that they wanted to disseminate all of the information that they were receiving from companies with tools to help artists, as well as showcase artists that were already inventing new ways to make a living.
For this series, they partnered with Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, whom they also worked with on a few other projects throughout the pandemic. The two organizations have similar mindsets and are encouraging people to take this time to look at things differently, so they got together and started talking about all the different opportunities that were being presented to them.
Artists Lead the Way
“Some of these artists were taking it to the next level before we even thought about it,” Farris said, impressed. She specifically applauded Sav Buist from The Accidentals, who is flourishing. Buist created a document on how to leverage OBS for live-streaming, which is frequently shared among creators.
If we look at the positive side of things during this time, artists have been able to take a step back for a moment to build their personal brand and not just use social media for promotion. They have the opportunity to take things into their own hands and there isn’t one-size-fits-all solution. Artists have used tools like Patreon and third party tools that integrate with their own website. It’s about finding the right fit for the artist.
Farris highlighted Rhett Miller of Ol’ 97s as another artist who pivoted his strategy and has been incredibly successful on StageIt. Miller made an intense commitment to perform shows online around five nights a week. He said, “If you told me that this is what I was going to be doing in this stage in my career, I’d have told you you were crazy.” He also told Farris that he plans to continue doing StageIt after he’s able to tour again because it gives fans the opportunity to experience his show from anywhere in the world.
Next Webinar: Discovering Hidden Revenue
Today’s webinar is titled, “Finding Hidden Revenue with Royalty Statements and Neighboring Rights. Pro>Sessions.” This session is intended to be a refresher and allow artists to come and ask questions. Royalty statements can often seem complicated and confusing, so this webinar is an opportunity to break down barriers to success.
Extending the Series
Farris shared that there’s interest in continuing the series into 2021. She’s spoken to people like Kay Hanley from Letters to Cleo, who has a lot of advice to share on how to leverage data and empowering artists to track their work. Hanley said, “Data may not be sexy, but getting paid is,” which most people would agree with.
For more information and resources from the Recording Academy, visit https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy