World Music Day is celebrated on the 21st of June every year. The idea behind this event is to encourage musicians to perform. With the looming Covid – 19 pandemic, musicians too are finding themselves in difficult waters.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a deleterious upshot around the world concerning various segments of the working field and professions of which music has probably been one of the worst hit of them all. The Music industry on both the larger and the smaller scale has had to endure the crippling squall of the pandemic.
One of the biggest segment that has been effected is the live music scene which is a huge source of a financial stability for many a musician across the globe. Though people are turning onto online platforms for streaming music more now with Spotify and the likes gaining more paid subscriptions in the lockdown phase, the interdiction of live music has hit the hardest.
Musicians and the followers though in general have developed a sense of getting used to the social media live concerts and paid live shows on various other platforms some even getting thousands of paid viewers. But the industry in general has been hit really bad as live music itself contributes to more than 50 percent of the total revenue while recorded music makes up for the rest of which streaming almost makes up for half of it.
In the midst of the pandemic the record sales in its physical form has nosedived quite a bit owing to the closure of record stores while digital sales have also suffered during the early parts of the lockdown only to redeem itself recently. Online music platforms also has seen the rise in the listeners consuming music of the more ambient and relaxed bracket. But the consumption on the paid subscription basis on online portal has had two sides to it. While many have adopted to subscription services, there are an equal number of people who are also opting out of it due to sheer financial pressure.
Another facet is the distribution and marketing of one’s music and related business which has taken a plunge as artists are not being able to release materials on time causing significant delays as many artists depend on tours to promote new content and with live music being curbed, half of the revenue is lost in that hence also effecting the recorded music sector and its consequent procedures of revenue generation.
I managed to catch up with well known guitarist and musician of Guwahati Mr. Nibir Bhuyan over the phone to get a take on how the pandemic has effect a musician on every scale and this is what he had to say-
We definitely are fighting together during these hard times as professionals from various fields but once the air clears up most other professionals can go back to their normal life immediately but for a musician or a performer it will take time getting used to the changes. Plus the live music scene being completely shut down also effects the venues and arenas which are losing business and even after things get normal it will take quite some time for those places to start any live music event which in turn would be severe on the musicians and performers alike.
On being asked as to what does it look like for a musician in the long run from here on, he said –
A musician will face a lot of hurdles and it will a lot of getting used to unlike other professionals like a doctor or an engineering for when everything does clear up every aspect of the music industry has to rebuild again and while live venues open up, people will still take time getting attuned to the changed music landscape. Another factor is that apart from live shows, many other aspects like music in movies, theater productions and advertisements and related sectors will also not bloom immediately causing a slow progress and financial impediment for the industry and its people.
This write-up was was given to us by Ashiqur Rohman. Ashiqur is a professional musician, a music journalist and the owner of Anylouder. He also released his debut album Idlewind in 2018
Also read about some popular singers , musicians and bands from Northeast India in this article in Discover East on the occasion of World Music Day.
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(Feature image source: Ultimate Guitar)
