Strangely, I’ve been paid more to play music during the pandemic than I ever did before! I’ve been very fortunate to have a steady gig as a choral scholar recording weekly live streamed services on Sundays. However, the fact that I have this position at all is largely because I have been connected with the cathedral, singing services and other concerts without pay over the past 2-3 years. It would be so much more difficult for me to earn money or even have somewhere to perform if I weren’t already established in that choral community. I started singing at the cathedral as a chorus member at Christmas and New Years concerts. This year, with a very small choir, there is no room to invite young and less experienced collaborators to sing.
Established artists may be able to get creative selling merch and tickets for exclusive Zoom meet-and-greets, but for those without an already-dedicated fan base, I think the pickings are slimmer. Gone are gigs at restaurants, retirement homes, and markets (although the Root Cellar has a fabulous plexiglass cage in which they exhibit a lone jazz guitarist). Throughout this time, I’ve seen dedicated artists come up with wonderfully creative ways to continue encouraging each other, including backyard talent shows, weekly song-writing challenges on social media, and the now-ubiquitous livestream. I’ve been impressed by how many opportunities are still available to me. However, I do think I’m quite privileged in that sense. It would be far more difficult to find spaces to perform if I was still relatively new to the ‘scene’, and especially difficult to make money. The ‘people’ side of the gig triangle, is my experience, is often what unlocks the paid gigs. It’s a challenging time to find collaborators to help you break into a more lucrative circle.
Now, I think it’s important for those lucky folks who are able to continue making a living as musicians to set a precedent by placing value on the work of less-known artists. Opportunities to do this are endless. My voice teacher has inspired me this past week by having me temporarily take over his daily haiku Instagram account. It’s a small thing, but it gave me so much courage to be creative in a new way. I’ve been buying prints from all my friends who are visual artists, and buying Christmas gifts from individual creators, often people that I know. Recording artists can collaborate with young people in their communities. As you say, create the scene you wanna be in. I would add to that, nurture the scene that nurtured you; I doubt there are many musicians who don’t owe some of their success to good mentorship and recognition from someone with more influence than they had.