CORONA-VIRUS WILL HAVE IMPACTS ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

A few years ago I gave up on music as a underground artists as I was finding it hard to make a living as a artist while paying bills and living costs. In addition to this the expectations people can have of you as a aspiring artist can be a little overloaded. I do not know if this is genuine or another method of massaging the ego before you apply the extortion. However, I had enough and while I matured I transfered my skills to Media & communications, a degree I studied while at University and graduated with a 2:2

My parents always told me that education is a back-up and they were right. Although some could say I failed in music one thing I can say is I produced some good music and it is a shame I was never signed to a major record label but that's life. I don;t have the passion to perform anymore but I sometimes like to sing or rap my favorite songs as a past-time.

In all honesty, it was not just that! The internet had changed the music industry from what I knew it to be. Back in the day the Pirate Stations had a big say on your music career. Music was being sold in the form of CDs and so on. But when the internet came it totally revolutionized the way music is consumed and sold. It forced more and more artists to become more reliant on Live performances and Gigs. If you could not sell your music, at least you could get paid to perform. I never reached any financial heights in music but it helped me to get by and keep food in my fridge when times were tough. I eventually had to give that up as getting older brought me more commitments and responsibilities.

Well, the music industry is about to take another dip and this time it will be a whole new transformation. Why... because of the

CORONAVIRUS.

The first place of the music and entertainment industry is going to hit is the the festivals and concerts. Mass gatherings like this will only spread any potential virus to its peak so there will be major concerns about this. As for Social Distancing I can assure you this will be mandated or become Law.

It is not just the artists who will suffer, but the session players, sound engineers, booking agents, record shop owners, DJs, labels, tour managers, event staff who are now in a difficult situation to make a living.

You could blame Boris Johnson for this but with 980 lives claimed in one day due to the Corona-virus it is a bit easy to see why the Government is not advising concerts and festivals.

I don't know how to put it in the simplest of terms but many economist believe it is going to experience the worst economic devastation it has experienced for years. In short the music industry right now is FCUK!

In March 2020, statistics show it has been the lowest number of streams because new releases have dried up and people are off work. You would think streams would go up due to less people working but during a time where peoples jobs and futures are risk it is hard to be jolly and appreciating as much music as you would have liked to. Plus with more people at home there will be an even greater competition in the content consumer market than ever before.

I could keep going with the statistic but in a nutshell if music is your priority then I would strongly advise you to re-think. It is not mine.

Why ? because we are about to experience the greatest economic downturn in history because this Coronavirus is about affect everybody, Rich or Poor, Black or White, its coming for you!

People are losing their lives, people are losing their jobs. Every industry under the Sun is going to be affected. This is because we are all connected. When one area goes bust it has a lock on affect. So no matter what you do every will be affected.

So my advice right now is not to over-panic. Stay Home and Stay Safe.

When the Lock-Down is over we can then start to see how mankind is going to adapt to Social Distancing. Then in about 6 months to a year we will see how this affects the economy.

But sorry to put a damper on things but they are anticipating a Great Depression. A period of Economic hardship we have never faced before in the modern world.

This is the time to get creative, learn new skills that could help you adapt to a changing world.

If you still want to be an artist or musician, I guess you can but it will be 100 times more harder cause the majority of us will be focusing more on surviving the Coronavirus and providing for our families, with the very little many of us are left with...

STAY SAFE. STAY IN ISOLATION. BE HEALTHY! THINK POSITIVE.