We are living in very stressful times, especially for artists and performers who make a living from their gigs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concerts, performances, festivals are being cancelled all over the world.
As reported yesterday, I Lost My Gig estimates at least $100 million worth of income has been lost in the entertainment industry alone. That figure is expected to increase in the coming days ahead.
To support musicians around the world who have had their gigs and festivals cancelled, Bandcamp has announced it’ll be waiving its revenue share for 24 hours this weekend.
Bandcamp, where just about every independent artist sells their music and merchandise, will not take its standard share of the revenue from midnight this Thursday night to midnight Friday night (US Pacific Time). For peeps in Australia, that’s 6pm Friday March 20, to 6pm Saturday March 21.
The site usually takes a 15% share of revenue on music and a 10% share on merchandise. While this doesn’t seem like much, it has the potential to fill the financial gap that the COVID-19 outbreak has created for a lot of independent artists.
“For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not,” said co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond in a statement.
“Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.”
This weekend go and support some of your favourite independent artists.
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