So, as you may have noticed that this site has been quiet for a few weeks. That’s not so much because a lack of content, but, to be totally frank with you, this whole COVID-19 thing has left me feeling, well, really depressed. In a way where I just didn’t want to touch the site at all, because I didn’t want there to be a long stretch of “this is how we are going to handle things in the COVID-19 era” content with livestreams and think pieces and weird, meandering posts about whether or not the live event industry can overcome this without any real knowledge of when this will end. It all became more real when I lost my day job as Venue Success Specialist at Eventbrite, because, well, nobody can put on events pretty much anywhere in the world right now.
Of course, wallowing in depression is sometimes a necessary part of healing. As is the time spent blaming myself for my own lay off and not quickly coming up with a way to keep the live music industry lucrative at this point. However, I do have a forum to amplify myself. And, yes, I know there are a million articles already out there, I cannot stress how important this is: You MUST continue supporting live music during this time.
I know this is tough. I know what it’s like to lose your job during a time when EVERYONE is without a job. I also know it’s scary to be employed right now, because you never know when it’s going to go away. That being said, I challenge you to take a look at your budget, and see how much you spend on shows in a month. Factor in buying drinks, taking Lyft, etc, when looking at those numbers. If you can still afford it, spend that money on keeping live music functional. If you are in a situation like mine, look at your budget and see what you can make work with your reduced income.
There are a lot of ways you can contribute! Many of your favorite bands still have their merchandise stores up and running. Just go to their official page and click on “STORE” or go to their Bandcamp page and make a purchase directly from the band. This helps you keep the band financially supported while they can’t tour, which is vital right now. Some bands, like Bleached are even selling special COVID-19 inspired merch!
You can also give directly to the venues and their staff! I could sit and list off every great venue in the Bay Area and send you a link, but SF Station did that already, and their list is pretty comprehensive. Just remember that most venues have two fundraisers going- one to keep the lights on, and one to keep their staff sheltered and fed while they can’t work. Noise Pop is even offering some incredible packages where you can buy different levels of subscriptions to Noise Pop Presents events, which is a crazy amount of excellent shows. That can be purchased here!
Last, but certainly not least, BUY ADVANCED TICKETS. I know there is a lot of uncertainty in the world, and we don’t really know when shows will happen again, and, technically speaking, the ticket revenue itself isn’t really something the venue can account for until the show happens, but it still helps. Buying advanced tickets helps give assurance to investors that the venue will be viable when this is all over. So, please, if you want to go to something in the fall, buy those tickets now. It helps. And, if you can’t think of anything to buy, the John Waters hosted Burger Boogaloo with Bikini Kill and Circle Jerks has been moved to Halloween Weekend, which will be the best way to celebrate getting through this thing.
Until we all meet again, I’ll leave you with a song, even though it came out in 1999, is very, very relevant today. I can picture a team of scientists, working hard to find both a treatment and a cure for this thing playing this loud to motivate them to finish:
