Tag: Live Music

Bandcamp are back saving the day by launching new live-streaming service

Known for music streaming and retail, Bandcamp have now launched a new live-streaming service for artists. Saving the day many times during the first lockdown and now for lockdown 2.0, Bandcamp waived their revenue share of sales for one day each month, and raised $35 million for artists via their ‘Bandcamp Fridays’.

Certainly giving something back to the community and helping artists across the globe, Bandcamp Live allows musicians to create ticketed live streams as well as have their own ‘virtual merch table’ during their show.

Bandcamp have mentioned they will be taking a 10% fee from ticket sales, but are waiving their share until March 31st next year.

Saving the day once again, this is how musicians should be treated in a pandemic, yes, I’m looking at you Spotify!

To read more details on the new announcement, you can read here.

64% of UK Musicians are considering quitting, new study finds

Original Article

A new study has claimed that a staggering 64 per cent of musicians in the UK are considering leaving the profession due to the financial impact of coronavirus.

The stark outlook comes from booking site Encore, which surveyed 560 musicians to understand how the pandemic has affected them financially.

On average, musicians have lost £11,300 from cancellations since March 2020 and 87 per cent of them have fewer gigs booked for August-December 2020 than the same period in 2019.

When the statistics are broken down even further, the research also reveals that young female musicians have 34 per cent fewer gigs booked for 2020 than men.

It is also claimed that pop singers are the worst affected, losing an average of £19,900 in earnings as a result of cancellations since March 2020.

According to Encore, many musicians are falling through the gaps of financial support too – with 41 per cent failing to qualify for the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Covid-19 has had an undeniably disastrous affect on the music industry and its musicians, with independent artists being hit the hardest. These new statistics demonstrate the reality of just how hard musicians have been hit.

Reported By Jessica Rowe

#LetTheMusicPlay continues its campaign to protect UK Live Music

Original Article

Figures from the music industry are adding more volume to the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign to demand that the government share arts funding to protect the future of artists, touring crew, and the individuals working behind the scenes.

Last month, more than 1,500 artists and industry figures came together to call on the government to stop “catastrophic damage” to live music amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the launch of the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign.

After months of campaigning from fans and the world of music, the UK government revealed plans for an unprecedented cash injection of £1.57 billion to help the arts, culture and heritage industries survive the impact of closures brought on by coronavirus – providing music venues, independent cinemas, museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites with emergency grants and loans.

While the relief for venues was welcome, many warned that without urgent government clarity, support and action, the pipeline of talent that plays within them could be cut short – declaring that musicians and crew were facing their “biggest crisis since the 1920s” without support.

It is essential that this momentum is maintained and the fight to protect UK live music is continued. Independent Music and entertainment venues hold huge historical and sentimental importance to the industry, artists and fans nationwide. We hope support for the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign continues.

Reported By: Jessica Rowe

Introducing: Mark Shepherd

Mark Shepherd has been a regular on the live circuit for years, playing to audiences in the UK to New York, Texas and San Francisco. Given his ability to move audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, it seems the time is ripe for him to replicate his live success on a general release.

‘The Grand Scheme of Things’ EP is his follow-up from his debut ‘Bad Man’, which made more than a few waves in the folk/country scene, being played on the BBC and community stations across the pond. The new release displays the same flair for storytelling that his fans have come to expect, and will no doubt charm audiences who haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing the British ‘Tom Petty’.

Unique to ‘The Grand Scheme of Things’ is it’s offer of two distinct aural paths to listeners, with the EP containing both acoustic and electronic versions of each tracks, the perfect choice for an artist whose music is all about mood and emotion. Paired with Shepherd’s whisky soaked vocals, the album displays that quintessential country ability to deliver bittersweet truths in a medium that resonates across demographic boundaries.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3eBq0mItukX32dvU3QySCo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markshepherdmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/markshepherdmu1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markshepherdmusic/

Website: http://www.markshepherdmusic.co.uk/