“Flowers can bloom through the cracks”
(Driftmoon & Susana – Because Of You)
The Corona crisis is currently affecting all of us. And (small) business owners such as us artists are no exception!
That is why I decided to hop on my blog and offer you some insight and inspiration into how I believe we, as artists, can get through this.
Our creativity is our most powerful asset
I know a lot of you are currently struggling to make ends meet due to the cancellation of gigs, lessons and other projects.
At the same time it is moments like these where our creative talents are extra valuable as they give us the capacity to improvise and find new ways of connecting with others, helping others and generating income!
I may start to sound like a broken record (pun intended) but this situation shows us more than ever how powerful of a tool the internet is!
To illustrate: many artists are now live streaming studio sessions and performances from their homes, a colleague of mine launched a donation-based online Stay Home Music Festival and I am currently seeing my Spotify streams go up due to the fact that people have more time to listen to music!
Opportunities
Yes this situation sucks. But I want to invite you to see it as an opportunity!
An opportunity to take a step back and let inspiration flow. An opportunity to finally finish those songs and write and produce even more new music. Maybe even to finish an album.
Embrace this as an opportunity to roll out new ways of working. If you are a coach or teacher, for example, you can offer Skype lessons to your students at a reduced rate. I’m sure your students will love this as they will be spending a lot of time at home in lockdown as well. You can even offer group lessons using Google Hangouts.
Use this time to expand your skill set. Take online classes about production, songwriting and/or online promotion. Or make your own online class or course. You can do this in the form of one or more videos that you upload to YouTube or Vimeo on a private link that you then share with students or offer to people in exchange for a donation.
Take advantage of this period to grow your online presence and fanbase. Create content for your social media such as acoustic videos, edit that vlog with video material you’ve had lying around, create a Tic Toc hit, etc. Launch a Facebook group. Start growing a mailing list of Super fans (for example using Mailchimp).
Finally get your music on Spotify and/or request access to your Spotify artist page (visit spotifyforartists.com to do so). Start a podcast.
Really, the possibilities are endless 🙂
Multiple income streams
If you’ve been following me for a while you know I always preach about having multiple income streams. I believe having multiple income streams is vital to running a healthy, sustainable music business and this crisis proves this more than ever.
Because let’s face it, those who rely on gigs for the majority of their income are the ones struggling the most at the moment. If that is your situation I am not saying this to rub it in, I am saying this because I want you to know that you have an amazing opportunity now to work on creating or expanding other streams of income.
For example: teaching, opening an online shop with merchandise, growing your Spotify following, producing/writing songs for others etc.
It may take some time to roll out these initiatives, but they will benefit you in the long run!
You’ve got this!
If you are worried and stressed at the moment please always remember, you have the talent, the skills and the capacity and you will come out of the other end of this thriving! In the meantime you can always reach out to your fellow artists and see how you can help each other.
You may also want to check with your government how they are supporting entrepreneurs. Certain countries are already working on special relief funds or arrangements.
Some resources:
- Digital Music News (US)
- Het Corona Virus – Check hier je regelingen (KvK, Nederland)
How do you plan to get through this period? Feel free to share your ideas, initiatives, and tips in a comment on this post. Let’s inspire each other 🙂