Musicians feeling the pain

Performing music is all I have ever done for 45 years. I’m a side man in a famous classic Canadian rock band. This band does at least 90 per cent of its concerts in the summer months and into the fall. This year was going to be a banner year, with 15 dates lined up until mid-November.

I hear a lot of talk about sports and people’s businesses and their livelihood going down the drain (I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Disney, by the way), many of whom will be able to open again shortly. But no one seems to talk much about the concert and theatre business.

My neighbour said recently: “Well, just do your concerts online, remotely.”

Who pays for that? I see a lot of famous artists who don’t need the money on network TV with their good wishes and playing from their home. I’m sure they’re paid network money.

But all my peers who are just trying to entertain on YouTube (mostly for the sake of performing because it’s in our blood), and have no job whatsoever until the world is immune to this, are not making a dime. After the fourmonth government aid, what then? Our entire year’s income is probably lost, with no EI to fall back on, and no income from broadcasting our music.

We all know the streaming services are getting all the money and don’t care squat about artists getting paid. They should be signing the same deals the CTVs and CBCs of the world have to. I feel even more for the guys and girls who play in the bars five nights a week. I was there for a long time, and believe me, there is nothing to fall back on and now no timeline to return to work.

Original music should be paid for, no matter if it’s on your cable, satellite, CD player (what’s that?!), or on your computer. Can we not see that? Or does everyone think music is magically cooked up in your Google Home?

It’s really sad.

Gord Maxwell, Port Coquitlam