Bigger COVID-19 worry?

[BaltBass5]

The harsh reality here in the DC/MD area is that bars will be shutting down today at 5pm for quite some time. Even when they reopen, a lot of venues won’t have the revenue to carry on and although some will, they most likely won’t have the revenue to hire bands, nor will patrons have the disposable income to go out.

 

[mmon77]

Most bars and restaurants operate on razor thin profit margins already. I doubt there are many that can survive being shut down for very long.

We can only hope that whichever ones survive will be band-friendly.

 

[Alexander Maier]

In Germany all bars, restaurants and similar placed are closed until 19th April! No entertainment!

I have booked a vacation in May in the USA. I planed to fly to New York to start a roadtrip to Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Houston. Possible, I will stay at home

 

[Leonid Nidis]

The hell with the gigs I lost 50000$ in savings and counting.

 

[Bob Coldwell]

Thats what Im worried about. Its affecting my business already (not a bar/restaurant but still). Luckily Ill get by (I hope!) but, unless these states/cities/towns put a freeze on their bills or subsidize, most of these places cant take more than a short period of time.

This is absolutely a real concern for many small businesses of all types.

 

[SactoBass]

what if bars cancel shows, fill them with other entertainment and find that on some nights you can have more crowd appeal with a board game night

***PARTY***

 

[LoTone]

No because where I live, bars are closed. So, when it will come back, live music will be sough after; I think.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

***PARTY***
View attachment 3745935

I know it doesn't appeal to you, but there are local brew pubs that have game nights. There are national conventions (not now) dedicated to band games. People listening to a band or playing board games both drink beer. Anyways, just saying that as things ramp up again, I think they're going to try lower cost "event" nights. Not everywhere, but I think it might take a significant chunk out of the live scene.

 

[fishdreams]

We should give ourselves, bars and restaurants and other places to perform (concert venues, jazz clubs) a little credit and time in figuring out how to navigate this new situation. There is more to life than wringing hands about how things used to be.

Musicians can organize house concerts and stream them. Bars and restaurants can setup delivery services. It's what is buzzing around here.

Ask yourself this: why did you go into making music in the first place? How can you make that happen in this new setup?

Yes this sucks.
It's also a great opportunity to reinvent oneself.

 

[CallMeAl]

Wouldn’t it be great if we came out of this with a greater sense of community? Playing music just for the sake of sharing with our family and friends? I imagine after 4-8 weeks holed up in our homes, many of us will be so desperate to make music, we won’t care about the money

 

[smogg]

The lack of gigs will be short term, but what if bars cancel shows, fill them with other entertainment and find that on some nights you can have more crowd appeal with a board game night or whatever they try and it works. Are you worried about regular Fri / Sat night gigs that just don't return when COVID-19 goes away?

No worries

 

[SactoBass]

I know it doesn't appeal to you, but there are local brew pubs that have game nights. There are national conventions (not now) dedicated to band games. People listening to a band or playing board games both drink beer. Anyways, just saying that as things ramp up again, I think they're going to try lower cost "event" nights. Not everywhere, but I think it might take a significant chunk out of the live scene.

No worries. Humans will adjust. Always have, always will.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Wouldn’t it be great if we came out of this with a greater sense of community? Playing music just for the sake of sharing with our family and friends? I imagine after 4-8 weeks holed up in our homes, many of us will be so desperate to make music, we won’t care about the money

That's great for most of us that are (despite what we want to call ourselves) hobbyists, but for people that are depending on money from music, are we screwing them? There are always unintended consequences.

 

[SactoBass]

No worries

^^^THIS!

 

[Ric5]

Live music is already in a bad way because the pay for gigs is about the same as it was 40 years ago … with no adjustment for inflation

 

[Allan Allan]

If board game night is more exciting than your band, you need to fix your band.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

If board game night is more exciting than your band, you need to fix your band.

You're missing the point.

 

[CallMeAl]

That's great for most of us that are (despite what we want to call ourselves) hobbyists, but for people that are depending on money from music, are we screwing them? There are always unintended consequences.

That's great for most of us that are (despite what we want to call ourselves) hobbyists, but for people that are depending on money from music, are we screwing them? There are always unintended consequences.

Im talking about playing just for fun. More backyard, basement and garage jams. Making music just for the joy of it.

Sounds like you’re talking amateurs undercutting professionals by playing for less. Which we already see in the live music scene, and we will continue to see after covid19. But I think that says less about the ethics of the amateurs, and more about patrons not seeing, caring about, or wanting to pay for the quality product of professional musicians.

but... should I not paint a picture, grow vegetables, or bake bread and then give it away to my friends if I’m not charging “market value?” Monetizing everything is a sad way to look at the world

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Im talking about playing just for fun. More backyard, basement and garage jams. Making music just for the joy of it.

Sounds like you’re talking amateurs undercutting professionals by playing for less. Which we already see in the live music scene, and we will continue to see after covid19. But I think that says less about the ethics of the amateurs, and more about patrons not seeing, caring about, or wanting to pay for the quality product of professional musicians.

but... should I not paint a picture, grow vegetables, or bake bread and then give it away to my friends if I’m not charging “market value?” Monetizing everything is a sad way to look at the world

Sure, I'm evil. Jesus.

 

[2playbass]

As for how the musicians survive the lull, that i don't know. My full time musician friends seem to be trying to launch online lessons and online streaming of performance.

In my band, we are already planning "virtual gigs" via Facebook or YouTube live streams. We will be promoting the clubs where we normally play gigs, and hopefully raising money for local charities. We are not getting paid, but we want to make sure people get back out and support local businesses after all this passes.