The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected virtually every industry in one way or another, and in that regard, the music industry is no different.

In fact, for the budding musicians still growing their portfolio and fan-base, the effects can be - and for some, already have been - devastating.

Vancouver Island MusicFest executive director Doug Cox is not only a concert promoter, but also a touring musician, as well as a record producer. He is experiencing the effects from all sides.

His scheduled tour with singer-songwriter Linda McRae that included shows in Washington, Oregon, B.C. and Alberta was cancelled mere hours after he spoke to Black Press.

sa国际传媒淲e just cancelled our entire tour due to Lindasa国际传媒檚 concerns over self-imposed quarantine,sa国际传媒� he texted, shortly after a phone interview. sa国际传媒淭his included dates in Washington, Oregon, BC and Alberta - and I just lost a two-week recording project as a producersa国际传媒� someone who was coming to Courtenay from Argentina to record at my studio has the same concerns.sa国际传媒�

Cox is no longer a full-time touring musician, but he empathizes with those who make their living playing the circuit venues. He said had this crisis happened 20 years ago, when he was on the road for eight months of the year, it would have been disastrous.

sa国际传媒淚t would have wiped me out, for sure,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not only going to be devastating to musicians who are dependant on that money coming in, but if you are planning on making money on a tour, yousa国际传媒檝e already put out a lot of money to book that toursa国际传媒� everything from updating your website to sending out press kits, phone bills, advertisingsa国际传媒� theresa国际传媒檚 a huge amount of money that goes out up front and a lot of that will never be recovered.sa国际传媒�

In addition to the gigs, there are music conferences, where much of the networking is done.

sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 where a lot of these artists get their work from; things like the Juno Awards, the Canadian Folk Music Awards have both been cancelled, and the [networking] that is done there is huge.sa国际传媒�

And itsa国际传媒檚 not just the musicians. Cox said a lot of the venues will be hit hard as well.

sa国际传媒淎 lot of them operate day-by-day in terms of keeping their doors open. If they have to close down for two or three weeks, thatsa国际传媒檚 saying good-bye to their staff, not having money to pay their billssa国际传媒� a lot of them are just going to give up, at this point in time.sa国际传媒�

As Vancouver Island MusicFest is still a few months away (July 10-12), Cox is expecting the festival to go ahead. But he has had to postpone some of the ongoing concert series shows.

sa国际传媒淲e had to postpone both the John McLachlan Trio show (March 20) and the Irish Mythen show (March 28).sa国际传媒�

Trent Freeman of the Juno Award-winning string quartet The Fretless said they just cancelled a handful of shows.

sa国际传媒淪o far wesa国际传媒檝e had a tour of four shows [cancelled],sa国际传媒� he said via phone from Toronto. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e also had a couple of shows postponed. And we are looking at our April tour, which starts in Calgary and goes all the way to [Vancouver Island] - hopefully that one still goes on.

sa国际传媒淎t this point, we are looking week by week. There is already some stuff for the middle of May that has been cancelled, but thatsa国际传媒檚 a rare case.sa国际传媒�

Freeman said with the changes in the way consumers get their music these days, live shows are the only way for many musicians to make a living.

sa国际传媒淚 think every touring musician in my community is, if not affected, certainly concerned, about how long this will last,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭ouring is sort of the last component that hasnsa国际传媒檛 been decimated by the lack of foresight within the music industry. Going out to play shows is sa国际传媒� the most sustainable way to make a living now for sure.sa国际传媒�

Freeman said while this is a big blow to the entire industry, hesa国际传媒檚 confident the majority of his peers will prevail.

sa国际传媒淚 do want to say all the artists I know are so creative - they wouldnsa国际传媒檛 really be able to make a living in the music industry without being so creative. Within the industry, especially in the circles I am in, theresa国际传媒檚 no obvious and easy path to income - itsa国际传媒檚 not like any other kind of job. We are always finding ways to adapt. So we will figure out another creative way [to get past this].sa国际传媒�

terry.farrell@blackpress.ca
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