Fans crowd-surf at SXSW 2016

Fans crowd-surf at SXSW 2016

Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images

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Going Viral: The Music Industry Grapples With The Worldwide Coronavirus Outbreak

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With the unprecedented cancellations of SXSW and Ultra Music Festival this week, the music industry faces ongoing questions, fears and concerns surrounding the global spread of the novel coronavirus
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Mar 8, 2020 - 6:52 pm

Like the spread of the virus itself, the growing fear surrounding the coronavirus outbreak has quickly escalated on a global scale over the past three months. Its impact on international industries and business is far and wide: Airlines, pharmaceutical conglomerates, big tech companies, gaming businesses and tourism industries are currently experiencing or bracing for the economical effects resulting from the novel coronavirus. It was only a matter of time until the furor reached the music industry. 

This week, the coronavirus sparked several major blows to the international live music industry. On the same day, Friday, March 6, both Ultra Music Festival (UMF), the Miami-based EDM mega-festival, and SXSW, the annual multi-day music, film, interactive media and tech festival and conference in Austin, Texas, canceled their 2020 editions due to concerns over the coronavirus. (Miami's Calle Ocho Festival, a one-day street festival and cultural event part of Carnaval Miami, was also canceled as part of the UMF announcement.)

In the same week that UMF and SXSW were canceled, Tomorrowland Winter in France, an offshoot event of Belgium's globally attended annual Tomorrowland EDM festival, and Ultra Abu Dhabi, UMF's event in the Middle East, were both called off. 

The UMF and SXSW developments come on the heels of bubbling fears and recent cancellations and postponements of international music tours and prominent cultural events around the world since this January due to the coronavirus, including cancellations from major artists like BTS, Mariah Carey, Green Day, Stormzy, Khalid, The National and many others. 

The news marks the first-ever cancellations for both SXSW and UMF, which were each scheduled to take place this month. It's an unprecedented development triggered by an equally unheard-of event with potentially unknown ramifications on an industry-wide level. 

The SXSW cancellation alone has already impacted Austin's local food, live music and hotel industries, with its ripple effect causing similar consequences on the city's businesses, communities and grassroots music scene. While local businesses and governments and city leaders are banding together to help alleviate the aftermath, launching funds, initiatives and fundraisers, the music industry is now scrambling for real-time responses and preemptive solutions as it heads into the 2020 festival season. 

Currently, there is lots of talk in the music industry surrounding event cancellation insurance as the coronavirus outbreak continues to impact large-scale events around the world. Generally speaking, infectious diseases are not covered in cancellation insurance policies, but rather come at an extra added premium. Still, many such insurance polices may exempt the novel coronavirus, according to Billboard. For example, while SXSW had insurance policies covering several types of events and scenarios, the festival did not have "cancellation insurance relating to a disease outbreak or triggered by the city declaring a 'local state of disaster,'" according to a report from The Austin Chronicle.

Consequently, many are putting the onus of event safety during the coronavirus era in the hands of event promoters and festival producers. "Concert promoters might need to come up with some kind of new model for this period," Carnegie Mellon University professor George Loewenstein told Billboard. "It feels to me like we're at the beginning." University of Massachusetts-Lowell bioethicist Nicholas Evans adds, "If there's a Los Angeles Times story that says 'Coachella becomes a hotbed for coronavirus,' I don't think it's going to be the company that serves drinks at the bar that's going to be taking the hit for that one. It's going to be the festival organizer." 

The effects of the coronavirus on the music industry go beyond the live music sphere, with many music and entertainment companies taking stock market hits as early as February. Warner Music Group, which last month (Feb. 6) announced it was going public, delayed its initial public offering (IPO) "due to market turbulence caused by fears surrounding the spread of the coronavirus," according to Music Business Worldwide. Frankfurt Musikmesse, a major gear show and trade fair in Europe, postponed its 2020 edition, originally scheduled for April, due to coronavirus.

In the fallout of the SXSW and UMF cancellations, novel practices are starting to emerge across the live music and event industries. Many tech conferences and industry trade shows are taking their events and exhibitions virtual and online-only. In the music space, large-scale events are implementing advanced medical technologies and additional health measures such as “fever screening," a process by which festival and event attendees are screened for "exposure risks" via thermal-imaging cameras, as reported by Rolling Stone.

Read: Coachella Co-Founder Paul Tollett Talks Kanye, Safety, Legacy & More

Still, with the 2020 festival season on the horizon, questions, fears and concerns surrounding the global coronavirus outbreak continue to loom in the music industry. Days after the SXSW news, forecasts of future festival cancellations remain a hot topic. "I wouldn’t doubt over the next 20 days if we see a festival a day canceled,” Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman told Billboard in an interview prior to the SXSW and UMF cancellations. 

At the time of this writing, both Coachella and Stagecoach, the flagship festivals from music events and festival producer Goldenvoice, have not been canceled. Meanwhile, Riverside County, where both fêtes take place, today (March 8) declared a public health emergency after it confirmed its first coronavirus case.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, many are left wondering if those festivals, along with several major events around the world, will see their fates cut short during this festival season.

For more information and developments related to the coronavirus, visit the World Health Organization for ongoing news and updates.

Crowd shot at SXSW 2019

Crowd shot at SXSW 2019

Photo: Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW

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How The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Is Directly Impacting Songwriters, Musicians And Artists

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With the worldwide concert industry now in flux, the coronavirus disruption has created a volatile environment for artists, musicians, songwriters and producers on every level
John Ochoa
Advocacy
Mar 13, 2020 - 3:35 pm

By now, the detrimental effects of the global coronavirus pandemic on the music industry are loudly heard. Major festivals around the world are postponing or outright cancelling their 2020 editions. This month alone, Coachella and Stagecoach, Ultra Music Festival, SXSW, Lollapalooza Argentina, Treefort Music Fest, Brussels' Listen! Festival and several other major events were called off or postponed due to the coronavirus. The aftermath has impacted everything from music conferences and award shows—this year's Winter Music Conference, ASCAP Experience, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and BMI Latin Awards were all cancelled or postponed—while the amount of cancelled national and international tours continues to grow seemingly on the daily.

As the coronavirus itself continues to spread, so too does its ramifications on the music industry. While industry experts and analysts are projecting that the live concert business could stand to lose billions, the financial fallout is virtually immeasurable at this point.  

But music's financial collapse is already taking its industry-wide toll. 

"You have people delaying on-sales for tours, and you have people who are going to postpone tours. It's chaotic and stressful, from agents and managers to artists, their families and their support teams," Allen Kovac, an artist manager who represents Mötley Crüe and other acts, told The New York Times.

The downfall of the live music space comes in the streaming era when the majority of professional recording artists and performing musicians rely heavily on touring and live performances as their main source of income. A 2018 survey by the Music Industry Research Association and the Princeton University Survey Research Center, in partnership with the Recording Academy's MusiCares, found that live performances were the "most common income source for musicians," according to Rolling Stone. (Pitchfork's in-depth feature on the booming music streaming market visualizes these financial percentages in a helpful graph.) 

Crowd shot at SXSW 2018

Still, even as the streaming industry continues to grow, with streaming accounting for 80 percent of the music industry’s overall revenue, the low royalty rates make it difficult for small and independent artists to even earn a minimum wage through streaming. And artists continue to make nothing from traditional AM/FM radio platforms (a major reason why Congress needs to pass the AM-FM Act). 

This all makes the live music industry all that more important for artists and musicians, especially for those considered to be non-superstar acts who rely on paychecks from touring and live gigs just to make a living. A coronavirus-sized pandemic that causes festival cancelations and cuts touring schedules short will undoubtedly impact the bottom line of artists and creators of every size on a global scale. Simply put: No shows = no paycheck. 

The coronavirus cancellations will also trickle down to songwriters, who depend on performance royalties from the live performances of their songs. A decrease in shows unquestionably equates to a decrease in potential gains via live performance royalties.

Then, of course, there's the legion of audio engineers, sound and light crews, backstage teams, tour managers and other behind-the-scenes hands who have doubtlessly lost work due to canceled tours, conferences and festivals. As DJ TechTools, a DJ- and gear-centric outlet, points out, audiovisual technicians are reporting a massive wave of job cancellations as more and more music conferences are cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

With the global concert industry now in flux, the disruption has created a volatile environment for artists, independent musicians, songwriters, producers and the like on every level. As tours and festivals continue to cancel, these same industries are, too, impacted, leaving session players, live musicians and all sorts of creative workers to face potentially empty touring and recording schedules for months on end. Worst of all, there is no end in sight just yet. 

Still, as the coronavirus story develops and the world continues to adapt, so will our beloved music industry. The artist and musician community can tap into the national and local resources available to alleviate any financial, mental and social distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

If you are an artist or music professional who has been impacted by this unprecedented circumstance and are in need of assistance, please visit our MusiCares page to learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy.

For more information and developments related to the coronavirus, visit the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for ongoing news and updates.

Going Viral: The Music Industry Grapples With The Worldwide Coronavirus Outbreak

Courtesy Photo: GRAMMY Museum

Courtesy Photo: GRAMMY Museum

Courtesy Photo: GRAMMY Museum

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#DoorsClosedMissionOpen: GRAMMY Museum Staff Curates Daily Playlists To Soundtrack Your COVID-19 Quarantine

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The daily playlists are part of a larger digital initiative from the GRAMMY Museum during the location's temporary closure, which includes never-before-released free digital content from the archives
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Apr 2, 2020 - 10:42 am

Like many other businesses, arts organizations and museums around the world, our beloved GRAMMY Museum home base in Los Angeles is currently being impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-March, the GRAMMY Museum has temporarily closed its doors until further notice for safety and health precautions in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

But while the location may be physically closed for now, the GRAMMY Museum's mission of cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music remains wide open and alive online. And they're keeping that mission at the forefront in the best way they know how: music. 

As part of their ongoing digital initiatives, the music-loving staff at the GRAMMY Museum is sharing exclusive Spotify playlists to soundtrack your daily life during this time of social distancing. Updated daily at 10 a.m. PT, the playlists are curated by staff members from across the GRAMMY Museum team in an effort to keep all employees engaged with each other and with the Museum's followers and patrons during this closure. 

Featuring selections from everyone from guest services and security team members to the executive team and spotlighting everything from disco hits and Afrobeat to classic rock and Latin trap, the playlists highlight the wide range of personal tastes reflected in the Museum's diverse staff and honor the genres and artists both the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum celebrate every day in our missions.

Read: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

"Once we made the decision to temporarily close our doors, it was a priority for me that we maintain staff engagement as much as possible," GRAMMY Museum President Michael Sticka said. "Asking each member of our staff to curate their own playlists has been one way that we've been able to do that. For me personally, I have loved getting to know our staff better by listening to their music choices and hearing their personalities shine through! I'm proud that we have been able to build a digital museum that properly continues each pillar of our mission, including public programs, education and virtual exhibits. Our digital museum has been a key element of our strategic plan for some time now, so I'm happy that all of these initiatives will continue after we re-open our doors. For the time being, our doors may be closed, but our mission isn't and we look forward to continuing to bring music content to the general public during this time and into the future."

The daily playlists are part of a larger digital initiative from the GRAMMY Museum during the location's temporary closure, which includes never-before-released free digital content from the archives. The newly announced lineup of April 2020 programming includes exclusive content from Tanya Tucker, Ben Platt, Common, Los Tigres del Norte, Courtney Barnett and many more. They join previously announced programs featuring Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Greta Van Fleet and Kool & The Gang, making this April a can't-miss event for the GRAMMY Museum's digital content public programming. 

This month, the GRAMMY Museum will also debut the Digital Exhibit Series, exhibit slideshows featuring past exhibitions and museum installations, featuring Jenni Rivera, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. 

The Museum's Public Programs digital series features intimate sit-down interviews with artists and musicians in its 200-seat Clive Davis Theater from past programs. Since the Museum opened 12 years ago, it has offered more than 900 Public Programs.

Additionally, the Museum continues to release digital educational content and lesson plans titled GRAMMY In The Schools Mini-Lessons, continuing its mission of paying tribute to our musical heritage and bringing our community together through music.

In all, the Museum is releasing new content every day of the week, with GRAMMY In The Schools Mini-Lessons on Sundays and Tuesdays, Digital Public Program Series on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and Digital Exhibit Series on Friday. Thursdays are Member Engagement Nights. Exclusive for Museum members, these special nights include an Album Club, which is an interactive experience similar to a book club, except members listen to music instead of reading books.

To experience all the Museum At Home digital content and to view the full programming schedule, visit the GRAMMY Museum website, where you can also find more information about the organization and its programs.

GRAMMY Museum's April Online Lineup: Tanya Tucker, Ben Platt, Common, Los Tigres Del Norte & More

Crowd shot at BottleRock Napa Valley 2019

Crowd shot at BottleRock Napa Valley 2019

Photo: Jim Bennett/Getty Images

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BottleRock Napa Valley 2020 Postponed To Fall Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

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The rescheduled event, which will now take place in early October, will feature all the originally confirmed headliners and several other acts, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Nicks, Dave Matthews Band, Miley Cyrus and more
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Mar 19, 2020 - 10:35 am

BottleRock Napa Valley, the North Californian music, wine, food and beer festival, has postponed its 2020 edition to the fall due to the growing coronavirus global pandemic. Originally scheduled for this spring (May 22-24), the event has been rescheduled for the weekend of Oct. 2-4.

In a statement shared on the festival's official social media accounts Wednesday (March 18), festival organizers announced the event postponement came "after careful consideration an in coordination with our local and state authorities."

"We made this decision with the safety and best interests of our fans, musicians, partners, employees, and community being paramount," the statement read. "We are committed to putting on the festival to not only share great music and the incredible Napa Valley hospitality, but because it's vitally important to the livelihood of all those who make BottleRock Napa Valley the festival it is."

Read: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

The festival, which unveiled its 2020 lineup this past January, announced that all the original headliners and several other acts, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Nicks, Dave Matthews Band, Miley Cyrus, Khalid, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Zedd and more, are confirmed to remain for the rescheduled festival dates. Additional lineup updates and potential changes will be announced soon.

All tickets purchased for the original spring dates will be honored for the rescheduled fall dates. Festival organizers will be emailing further details regarding exchanges and returns "within the next few weeks," the statement reads. 

Read: How The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Is Directly Impacting Songwriters, Musicians And Artists

BottleRock Napa Valley is the latest festival to be cancelled or postponed this year due to the global coronavirus pandemic. This month alone, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Coachella and Stagecoach, Ultra Music Festival, SXSW, Lollapalooza Argentina, Something In The Water, Treefort Music Fest, Afro Nation Puerto Rico, Brussels' Listen! Festival, Record Store Day and several other major events and festivals around the world were called off or rescheduled due to the coronavirus.

How Music Is Uniting People During The Coronavirus Quarantine

Crowd shot at Glastonbury Festival 2019

Crowd shot at Glastonbury Festival 2019

Photo: Ki Price/Getty Images

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Glastonbury 2020 Canceled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

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Citing government measures and "unprecedented uncertainty," festival organizers have called off this year's event, which was to be Glastonbury's 50th anniversary: "This is now our only viable option"
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Mar 18, 2020 - 8:40 am

Glastonbury Festival, one of the leading festivals in the U.K. and one of the premier festival brands in the world, has canceled its 2020 edition due to the growing coronavirus global pandemic. 

In a post shared on the festival's official website and social media accounts today (March 18), festival organizers announced the cancellation of this year's event, which was to be Glastonbury's 50th anniversary. 

"Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option," the statement read. 

"We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June," the statement continued. "But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields."

"We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked," the statement concluded. "Again, we're so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you."

Read: How The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Is Directly Impacting Songwriters, Musicians And Artists

The statement also alluded to the "severe financial implications" resulting from the festival's cancellation, which comes with an estimated loss of up to 100 million pounds ($117 million), according to The Guardian.

News of Glastonbury's cancellation comes in the wake of "drastic action" and measures enacted and recommended by the U.K. government to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has already caused the cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, the annual European song and songwriting competition, and the closure of all major British theaters. 

Just last week (March 13), festival organizers announced the first wave of artists confirmed for Glastonbury 2020, which was originally set to take place June 24–28 at Worthy Farm, Somerset, U.K. Headliners and major artists included Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Diana Ross, among many other acts.

The lineup announcement came "after much consideration given the current circumstances, and with the best of intentions," according to a statement posted on the Glastonbury website last week (March 12).

"As things stand we are still working hard to deliver our 50th anniversary Festival in June and we are very proud of the bill that we have put together over the last year or so," read the statement. "No one has a crystal ball to see exactly where we will all be 15 weeks from now, but we are keeping our fingers firmly crossed that it will be here at Worthy Farm for the greatest show on Earth!"

Read: Going Viral: The Music Industry Grapples With The Worldwide Coronavirus Outbreak

Ticket-purchasers who have already paid a deposit for a Glastonbury 2020 ticket will have the option of rolling over their deposit to next year's event with a guaranteed "opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021," according to the festival's website; rollovers will happen automatically for those who prefer that option. The festival is also offering a refund for deposits until this September, with additional news and further information regarding accommodations, single-day tickets and the like coming soon. 

Glastonbury is the latest major festival to be canceled or postponed this year due to the global coronavirus pandemic. This month alone, Coachella and Stagecoach, Ultra Music Festival, SXSW, Lollapalooza Argentina, Something In The Water, Treefort Music Fest, Afro Nation Puerto Rico, Brussels' Listen! Festival, Record Store Day and several other major events and festivals around the world were called off or rescheduled due to the coronavirus. 

Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund