MUSIC INDUSTRY IS SENDING OUT AN SOS

MUSIC INDUSTRY IS SENDING OUT AN SOS

#soundofsilenceau

www.thesoundofsilence.com.au

AUSTRALIA (Friday 20 March, 2020) - The hard-working people who provide the soundtrack to Australian life need your help, right now.

Sound Of Silence (SOS) is a national initiative from a Music Industry Taskforce* that represent our diverse music industry to bring immediate relief for an industry at the existential brink.

Through a raft of targeted activity, we hope to alleviate the severe hemorrhaging of income that has come with widespread cancellations of festivals, concerts, shows and local gigs.

The music industry and those at its peripheries cannot survive without an alternative source of revenue that has disappeared along with live shows, a figure that has literally gone from 100 to zero in under a week.

The workers in our industry live from gig to gig. Shows are their lifeblood and it will take more than the containment of COVID19 to return them to economic stability. The ramifications are far-reaching and seriously long-term.

The music industry has historically banded together to donate time and money to those in need, as seen recently with bushfire relief efforts – it is always there to lend a helping hand. Now it needs the Australian music-loving public to do the same.

This is a real and present crisis, and this is a very real SOS.

If we don’t act now the soundtrack to Aussie life will stop and all we will hear is the sound of silence.

SENDING OUT AN SOS – THIS IS HOW TO HELP

• Visit www.thesoundofsilence.com.au and if you are in a financial position to do so, please donate to Support Act – which is a music charity that provides crisis relief services to artists, roadies and music workers who are directly affected during this time.

• In the absence of touring, merchandise is the most instant investment you can make into any artists career, you can support by visiting any number of the artists stores directly through the store links on the SOS online superstore, or create an equally lasting connection by purchasing the Sound Of Silence, special custom tee designed by Jack Irvine (Billie Eilish, Skeggs) with all proceeds going to Support Act.

• Consider donating your refunds for cancelled shows or a portion of your refund to the venue or Support Act via Sound of Silence (SOS).

• Hang onto your tickets for rescheduled dates. By keeping your ticket, you keep funds in the industry when it is most needed. It also means the artists don’t have to start their marketing campaign all over again therefore saving money and resources in promoting the shows.

• Keep streaming and buying Australian music and merchandise – directly from artist websites, through local record stores (online), Bandcamp, Patreon or via your favourite streaming services - Spotify and Apple.

• Spread the word - contact your preferred radio station and ask them to play your favourite Aussie artists or write a letter to your local MP.

• Message your favourite musician or venue and offer moral support. Or ‘Pay It Forward’ and buy a gift voucher for your favorite artist at their favorite rehearsal, recording or production studio.

• If you know any workers affected by the recent event cancellations and postponements, check that they are aware of I Lost My Gig. The latest figures compiled by ilostmygig.net.au (ILMG) continue the alarming trend in lost income for the creative industries. Reported losses now top $200 million reported in just 5 days while reported people directly affected in the industry sits at over 400,000.

• And most importantly, when we are able to gather en masse again and share in the power of the live experience, please buy tickets to gigs and go and see your favourite acts.

QUOTES

Maggie Collins, artist manager
DZ Deathrays/Morning Belle
“This is a rally cry, a call to arms – the support that the music industry receives now will be repaid with art, community, and passion for what makes our scene so special. We will be back, and we need to ensure the artists and industry are ready for when the shows go on again.”

Clive Miller, CEO, Support Act
“Artist crew and music workers are facing a bleak and uncertain future and are also some of the most vulnerable with regards to mental wellbeing. Please help us to support our music workers through this difficult period and help them be in a position to bounce back louder and prouder than ever once the pandemic has passed.”

Howard Freeman, CrewCare
“We need your help to get through this so that when the venue doors and festival gates open again, when the stage lights come on and the fans return, the artists and the legions of workers who support them, are there for you.”
Alice Skye, musician
“I think we are all feeling a lot of the same feelings right now. Upset, worried, stressed, uncertain and unsure. And we’re all just trying to understand what’s happening and adjust as new information rolls in.

It was very rough over the weekend watching emails and messages of cancellations come in and watching my friends all expressing the same concerns. I started to freak about how I would support myself when music is my only income. But this week, watching the initiatives of so many amazing people in our community - I feel a lot more empowered and ready to deal with it.

The devastation COVID-19 is causing and the cracks in our system it’s exposing is a lot to take in. And I’m not sure things will “return to normal” - but it feels like a good time to reassess what matters and I think ultimately we could come out of this stronger as a community."