As the coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the music industry — and most industries — to a standstill, MusiCares has emerged as the leading relief resource for the untold thousands of music professionals impacted by the crisis.
However, obviously it can’t handle everyone, and a large number of resources are available for music professionals in need. The most exhaustive list of resources for the music community that Variety has seen have been compiled by A2IM (the American Association of Independent Music), the trade organization for the independent-music community, and a joint effort from the RIAA, SONA, NSAI, NMPA, the Recording Academy, MAC, A2IM, ASCAP and BMI.
Between them, the two guides include a list of resources available to assist the music community during COVID-19, and a guide to umemployment. It includes best practices, grant and relief funds, loan opportunities for individuals and small businesses, mental health support, resource guides, the best practices for streaming performances, tax relief and more.
See the “joint effort” guide here: musiccovidrelief.com
See A2IM’s list of COVID-19 relief resources for the music community here.
If you wish to contribute additional resources to the A2IM list, contact membership@a2im.org, or request to join the A2IM Member Slack Community.
Also, for live-entertainment crew workers, Live Nation has stepped up and founded Crew Aid, which is aimed at “all the backstage staff that help bring concerts to life including: tour managers, production managers, riggers, sound engineers, backline techs, lighting directors/designers, special effects teams, carpenters, and more.”
Specifically for songwriters, the National Music Publishers Association has compiled this guide: http://nmpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NMPA-Resource-Guide-to-the-CARES-Act-.pdf
The MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund was established in mid-March with a $2 million donation from MusiCares and its parent organization, the Recording Academy, and has since raised “millions more” through private donations and the support of many major music companies, including Amazon Music, Facebook, SiriusXM-Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube Music, Universal and Warner Music Groups and many others.
If you wish to support its efforts to assist music professionals in need, visit: https://www.grammy.com/MusiCares/CoronavirusReliefFund
If you are a member of the music industry in need of assistance, visit: musicares.org.