The Value Of Music In Our New Age Of Coronavirus

Let’s all take care of ourselves and each other through the Coronavirus crisis. Stay healthy, wherever you are. That is what is most important.

I’ve realised, there’s no such thing as ‘business as usual’ anymore. The last month has changed why we do what we do forever. And now I am more determined and more focused than I have ever been.

Why? This crisis has made clear the impact that music and culture have on our lives. And to me, it lays bare the reasons why we have to change everything and the need to do so.

Let’s look at how music has impacted the world, and how music has been impacted by the virus economically, socially and culturally.

Economic:

• We are seeing — in real time — the economic value of music to communities and what happens when it disappears. SXSW brought an estimated $350m to Austin. It is not solely the musicians and other creatives that are suffering as a result of SXSW being cancelled. The supply chains that support SXSW and other events from Uber and Lyft drivers to servers, food trucks to caterers, hotels to parking attendants, also suffer. In 2017 Coachella brought $407m to the Indio Valley region. While this will hopefully return in the autumn, the AirBnB, Uber and Lyft, restaurant bookings and other economic stimuli disappear. These all start with music.
• The closure of live music venues and cancellation of tours starkly reveals their global economic benefit. The live music sector stands to lose $billions, according to Rolling Stone. But the live music sector is much more than the music. It’s riggers, drivers, concession attendants, parking attendants, caterers, designers, lawyers, accountants, managers etc…. The artist is at the centre of a wide economic spider web that our necessary response to the Coronavirus is dismantling.
• The plight of musicians in many cities is revealing the importance — alongside delivery drivers and other ‘gig’ economy workers — of their value to society and the need for workers’ rights to apply to gig workers too. Ours is increasingly called the ‘gig’ economy for a reason. It has become one!
• This crisis lays bare the value that grassroots music venues have for communities. They are community centres above anything else and the crisis demonstrates the need to treat venues as a social good. We have had publicly funded and well supported concert halls for centuries. Grassroots music venues, nightclubs and other places deserve the same treatment.

Social:

• It is a joy to see music being used as a tool to lift people’s spirits — note the use of music in Italy from people’s balconies in the ‘age of anxiety’.
• Music is one of the most important social activities we have at our disposal when we’re in isolation. Humans are social creatures. We are not programmed to isolate ourselves. Music is a window to the outside world and its ubiquity supports positive mental health and brings us together when we’re not allowed to be in the same room.
• Music remains integral to exercise, whether it is at home, via YouTube or around your local park. Without it, keeping fit during isolation is more difficult.

Cultural:

• Viruses do not discriminate. They impact young and old, black and white, rich and poor etc… Yet, how we treat them divides people. At a time when common decency and collective action will save lives, music is a powerful tool to unify. The rise in live streaming capabilities, increase in capacities and opportunities to see and hear music online and virtual house concerts are becoming more important. What this offers is a window into another person’s experience, culture and home. We need to take advantage of this opportunity.
• Songs are comforting. According to Billboard, “Yo-Yo Ma took to social media on March 16 to share a song of comfort. “This is for the healthcare workers on the frontlines — the Sarabande from Bach’s Cello Suite №3,” he wrote. “Your ability to balance human connection and scientific truth in service of us all gives me hope.”” This is one example of the power of this medium.

Watch the viral video of the kids who put on a cello concert on porch of elderly neighbor in…

What I Have Learned So Far:

• The music ecosystem is similar to our health care ecosystem. If it lacks investment or is not prioritised, it can collapse.
• Joni Mitchell is right. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. We all celebrate festivals when we’re at them. We love going to venues, because they are there. We benefit from each being a part of our communities. We reap the economic, social and community impact. But we do not plan and develop policies to respect this. We reinforce the house of cards, rather than develop a strong, long-term foundation to build upon. And when crisis hits, everybody suffers.
• This crisis is making us more human. We all have to come together to combat this threat. So, we turn to what unites us — music, food, culture, art and compassion. All these ecosystems are threatened by the virus. Already over 140,000 layoffs, mainly in the hospitality sector have been reported in Ireland. Every creative industry is in serious condition. We need to treat these ecosystems more seriously (with better policy, more funding, more protection and more recognition) as we’re now seeing what happens when we don’t.
• We will need music (and art, culture, food) more than ever when we emerge from this crisis. Fundraisers will need music. Appeals will need artists. Artists will be appealing for support. Going back to the way it was is not an answer anymore. We need to change now.
• The value of social interaction is now being qualified and quantified. The simple act of meeting one another, experiencing a form of culture and conversing (or eating, or listening to music) is now a currency in and of itself. This is an opportunity to invest in it — in person (when we can) and online.

What Could We Do?

I asked our team at Sound Diplomacy to think about how the crisis is changing what we do and if this is indeed the new normal, how will it impact us. One of my team poignantly wrote the following:

• “How will we act or feel when our favorite artists are no longer around because a 2 month virus outbreak bankrupted them? And what if it does continue past 2 months? Doesn’t it make more sense to rethink the entire artist compensation structure? We need to support them not only during live events and the occasional merch purchase but also on an ongoing basis.”

Another of my colleagues wrote:

• “If the current situation extends for a long time, governments will need to first understand how to ensure chaos doesn’t permeate all areas in the long term. They will have to rethink policies, laws and processes to ensure citizens have their fundamental rights respected, considering a potential switch in life-as-we-know-it is sustainable.”

And here’s another:

• “Music plays a crucial role in developing strong cities and communities (also virtual communities), creating a sense of belonging, improving self-confidence and mental health and even keeping children & parents engaged and active. Once people are able to gather together again, especially in small-to-medium gatherings, music can be a core aspect of reconstructing communities and reinforcing shared values and interests in the same way that food and dance does and will do.”

What is clear is the following:

• Continued lack of investment in the facilitation of interaction does not work. Without bars, pubs, music venues, restaurants, what are we as a society? This social value has been quantified for us and its substantial. It is time to invest in this currency, because it is the most important and valuable one we have.
• We cannot live without music. This has been made abundantly clear.
• We take the economic impact of music (and culture as a whole) for granted. We assume it will always be there. It won’t.
• We need to rewire our countries, regions, cities and places with policies that protect our need for social interaction. Whether it’s in person or online, this is a currency that must be defined and invested in as a global good.
• It is time to recognise the value of the gig and the economy is produces. Workers’ rights, pensions, protections should be afforded to all workers, whether it is one gig at a time or not.

We are all in this together.

So, what does this all mean? To get to the answer, we must answer the following:

• Without culture, what are we left with?
• Who are we as a global society? What is truly important?

I see it this way:

Separating economic growth from inclusive cultural and social development is economically damaging. Not investing in health costs more to keep us healthy. Not investing in music and culture create negative impacts that reach far past the music or art on stage. This is genuine disruption. This will change us.

Let’s stay home, stay healthy and look after each other. And when we emerge from this crisis, let’s change for the better.