The coronavirus pandemic has devastated a lot of industries. One of the most affected was the music industry, with American Express releasing stats that tell us 91% of people in the industry had to change the way they worked to survive.
Musos were some of the hardest hit during lockdown since majority of their income relied on live gigs and performances. With social distancing, travel and venue restrictions, and less funding, the music industry is pretty fucked right now.
In a world of cancelled festivals, zoom parties and Fortnite concerts, musos and those in the industry have had to be super creative to stay afloat during this pandemic.
The Weeknd will perform in a virtual TikTok concert on August 7th
“On August 7th at 8:30PM ET, TikTok will play host to a live virtual concert from The Weeknd, where he’ll perform a series of tracks from his latest album, After Hours” pic.twitter.com/YzQScF3AGC
— RileyTaugor ? (@RileyTaugor) July 30, 2020
For all you struggling musos (and anyone who’s invested in the music industry or their mate’s music), I have some good news for you! American Express is slinging free cash, and not just to your muso mates – you can go into a draw to receive $250 just for nominating them for a grant.
American Express is injecting a sexy $1 million into the music industry (!!!) through the Music Backers Fund, and there’s plenty of opportunities to snag some of that cash.
The Music Backers Fund
Basically, there’s two main ways American Express is slinging cash: grants for musicians and music industry-related businesses, and a ‘Nominate a Mate’ comp, though there’s going to be more initiatives rolling out in the next few months!
Right now, this is what’s been rolled out:
The Grant
The actual grant is open for music businesses and artists to apply for with values between $2,000 to $50,000. The three grant categories range from: assistance designed to help a career or business get back on track, funding a new idea or income stream, through to supporting growth and bigger innovation projects that have a positive impact on the music-loving community.
Applications are open until 9:00am, Monday 9 November (AEDT).
Nominate a Mate
This one’s open for the public (!!!) to nominate a mate who has been doing something great for music (capitalise on that vagueness, please). If selected, your mate will receive $1,500. The person nominating will also go into a draw to win a $250 voucher*.
Now, here’s the thing – most, if not every single person in the music industry has had to adapt their work or business is some way to actually continue existing under pandemic restrictions. SO, don’t be shy about applying – there is A LOT of cash up for grabs, and you very well could be one of the lucky ones who makes it!
Applications are open until 11:59pm, Sunday 13 September (AEST).
me and the homies when we found each other at the fortnite travis scott concert pic.twitter.com/WEHhy9rBhs
— sanic (@SanicGTGF) April 24, 2020
Look, my philosophy on these things is that you can’t really lose. Either you apply and nothing happens, or you apply and you get POTENTIAL THOUSANDS.
So share this with your muso mates and nominate someone you reckon deserves some spare cash during this pandemic, and who knows – maybe you both will get something out of it.
Applications are now open. To get involved and to learn more, visit: www.amex.com.au/MusicBackers.
