Coronavirus threatens the music industry
While concerts are being canceled all over the country, there is growing concern in the music industry about an economic catastrophe due to the coronavirus.
According to Sonart, the "professional association of freelance musicians", all those involved in concerts that are planned over the next two weeks must expect a major loss of income. If the measures are tightened or extended, i.e. events with fewer than 1,000 people are also canceled, or the state of emergency remains in place beyond 15 March, the losses will grow with each passing day.
As many musicians in ensembles, bands and sometimes orchestras are self-employed, such cancellations hit them particularly hard. This applies to the entire spectrum, from jazz and pop bands to opera and classical productions. Freelancers often earn large parts of their annual income during the short time in which performances take place and therefore have to cross-finance long preparation and rehearsal phases.
When concerts don't take place, the organizers are also directly affected. Canceled individual events are catastrophically affected. Even regular music event organizers often work with few reserves, so that cancellations of just a few weeks can lead to existentially threatening financial holes.
Sonart expects the Federal Council to be aware of the music industry as a whole, alongside the other eligible economic sectors, and to include it when discussing further measures and compensation options.
