KEEPING THE MUSIC ALIVE
Local business owner launches YouTube channel to keep bands and their music relevant
LOWER POTTSGROVE » Joann DeFrancisco is passionate about live music. Several years ago, she turned her love of music into a career, founding 513 Entertainment — a full service Montgomery County-based entertainment agency with a focus on music.
Among the industries hit hard by the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic was the entertainment industry.
As state, local and international governments reacted to the surging number of cases and began to shut down bars, restaurants and other businesses, it also shut down live music.
“March 15 was the date everything came to a screeching halt — the day the music died for me,” she said. And unlike other business segments, live music has not seen widespread return.
When the pandemic hit in the spring, DeFrancisco, of Lower Pottsgrove, was booking acts into nine venues around the region. And then, she said, “all work for my company ceased.”
“The bands stopped being able to perform — doing what they love — and all of us stopped doing what we love as a career,” she said.
Almost immediately, DeFrancisco shifted her business model.
“I had to do something to keep music alive and relevant this year. Bands were splitting up and those that play original music had no way to be together to collaborate.” She added that bands that had released albums in March, were unable to tour to support the releases.
For three years, DeFrancisco was booking bands and other entertainment in the Greater Philadelphia region, while still working full-time in a corporate career. When her corporate job was eliminated in October 2019, she made 513 Entertainment her fulltime career and continued building her reputation with both the venues and bands in the area. Then COVID struck.
“I lost my job and my career within 5 months,” she said.
DeFrancisco said she was watching the news one day when she got an idea.
“All of a sudden I sat up and wrote down ‘Band Together
International,’” she said, adding that she thought for several hours about what that could mean.
“I thought, how cool would it be to talk to bands around the world about their struggles and how to stay relevant.”
In April, DeFrancisco launched her YouTube Channel — Band Together International.
“I wanted to get it rolling as quickly as I could. It was urgent for me and urgent for them (the bands).”
DeFrancisco put together a banner and obtained the equipment she needed. She then began searching out the top original acts around the world via social media and began reaching out to interview them. “Musicians jumped at the opportunity to speak with me to talk about their pandemic struggle, what they are doing during downtime and what they’ve been going through collectively. It’s been a huge boost in morale on their end, the fans and myself on a personal and professional level,” she said.
DeFrancisco uses the Zoom conferencing app to record her interviews. She said she tries to minimize the editing of each band segment. So far, she has posted interviews with 13 international, independent bands on the site.
“My hope is to keep the music alive until tours can begin again. At that time, l will bring phase two of Band Together International — a live, on location series — where I will circle back to those bands and go to their live concerts and interview and film footage of live shows,” she said.
For now, DeFrancisco said she is working on lining up additional interviews, building the subscribers to the Band Together International YouTube channel and getting the word out about the effort — and the bands.
“It’s been so rewarding and I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to help these talented bands,” she said.
Once the pandemic subsides and venues reopen, DeFrancisco said she looks forward to getting back to growing 513 Entertainment again — and plans to keep “multiple irons in the fire.”
“I won’t give up Band Together International. It is gaining me insight and musical knowledge that is invaluable to me. It makes my company stronger,” she said, adding that the relevance of the project is not just for the “here and now,” but for the future.
“Music will have a new norm, we just don’t know what that will be yet. I want to get there no matter what that twist or turn is,” she added.
Band Together International can be found by visiting https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC65Am86JkHEmvWDQGI78PSg
For information about 513 Entertainment visit https://513entertainment rocks.com/