How has the music industry come together in support of Ukraine?

It's been over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine, within that time there have been many casualties, and people have had to flee home for safety. However, during this awful time of crisis, one positive that has occurred is the unity across the world in support of Ukraine. Many musicians have been rallying support, using their status and fanbases to spread awareness and encourage them to donate to charities and campaigns that aim to help those in need during this time. 

There have been many concerts that have given all the funds raised to charities helping Ukraine such as the recent “Concert for Ukraine” that saw some of the biggest musicians like Ed Sheeran and Camilo Cabello perform. The winner of the Eurovision song contest in 2016, Ukrainian singer Jamala, also performed, having fled her home two weeks ago stating that her family and friends were still in bomb shelters back in Ukraine. 

The proceeds from the concert all went towards the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian appeal which is helping to provide food, water and shelter for refugees in Ukraine. According to ITV, the concert raised over £13million as of 30th March. The concert for Ukraine was broadcast live on 29th March on ITV but is available on-demand via the ITV Hub. According to ITV, the concert raised over £13million as of 30th March. The concert for Ukraine was broadcast live on 29th March on ITV but is available on-demand via the ITV Hub. 

The support has continued across the globe from musicians to organisations, and campaigns, and we even saw this on one of music’s biggest nights, the annual Grammy Awards. The 64th edition of the Grammys occurred recently and they partnered with Stand Up For the Ukraine campaign to raise awareness about the country's current situation. They promised to feature a special segment dedicated to Ukraine which saw President Zelenskyy make an appearance in a pre-recorded video as he gave a powerful speech that began with, “what is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people”. He continued, "our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through anyway." He ends his speech by pointing out the importance of music during difficult times and that we all must offer support. 

Zelensky's speech then led to John Legend's performing his new song "Free," during which he invited Ukrainian musicians and a poet to perform with him. Legend said on his Twitter he wrote the song “after a week of seeing the horrific images of the senseless, brutal invasion of Ukraine.” “I know I can't end any wars with a song,” he continued, “but I had to write this song as my prayer, my contribution to the chorus of voices calling for peace and freedom for all people.” After the performance, the audience was directed to ways to donate in support of Ukraine. 

During a difficult time, it has been heart-warming to see the music industry rallying together to raise funds for active organisations bringing relief to those in distress. Even during awful times like this, music can bring people together and offers comfort and creates hope for those who are desperately in need of it. Our support for those in need matters now more than ever. 

Nathan Sung

How Has Covid Affected Live Music?

 It was around early March 2020 when the whole world was put on hold as lockdowns and restrictions were introduced as a result of COVID. The pandemic affected everyone, causing people to lose their jobs and even friends and family. But arguably, one industry that was affected the most was the live music sector, with concerts, tours and festivals being put on hold and then inevitably cancelled.

This didn’t just affect the artists themselves, but also the venue staff, road crew and sound engineers just to name a few, many of these people lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. 

Many musicians particularly smaller independent ones became unemployed even with the help of funding from organisations and the government, it was still not enough. Unlike mainstream musicians such as Drake or Justin Bieber that have millions have fans worldwide, these smaller musicians could not solely depend on things like streaming services such as Spotify to generate money, as most of their revenue is generated by them doing concerts. Also, these independent musicians often can’t release singles and albums to generate revenue due to a lack of budget and support from record labels. 

There became this empty void for many people with the lack of live music in a time when it felt more necessary than ever with people stuck in isolation. Fans and musicians recognised this and spotted an opportunity where they could use social media to compensate for this which led to the emergence of virtual concerts and live streams on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok where musicians would perform remotely to their fans. An example of this was the One World: Together at Home which was a benefit concert organised by the World Health Organisation to support healthcare workers and promote social distancing to stay safe. The entire event was streamed on various online platforms for free and had many popular artists perform such as Lady Gaga and John Legend. 

These virtual concerts provided a good solution for the lack of live in-person music and benefitted fans who usually couldn't go to in-person concerts due to travel or cost. Virtual concerts were not only cheaper but also you could watch from your home and stay safe. Many musicians held their own virtual concerts with many turning out to be very extremely successful. An example is the band BTS who held a show in 2020 where just under 1 million tickets were sold to viewers from a total of 191 different countries. This virtual concert was good at making the most of the current situation by incorporating technology such as augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) which enabled the band to interact with their fans. 

Independent artists also had to be innovative and find solutions to survive in a difficult climate. Even if they could not organise full-on virtual shows or concerts as we have seen with many mainstream artists, many took advantage of social media platforms where they live-streamed for free and performed to their fans from their own homes. However, even with these virtual concerts as an attempt to fill the void left by the lack of live music, the experience of going to a virtual concert does not compare to going to an in-person live event and therefore fans left fans longing for the return of concerts and festivals. 

Thankfully, in the past few months, we have seen the gradual return of live music with musicians releasing new concert and tour dates, whilst also festivals announcing their return. A lot of these tours and festivals have been rescheduled as a result of them being cancelled due to the pandemic. These tickets have been met with high demand with fans seemingly keener than ever to attend these live events after over a year of being stuck at home. Many festivals like Rolling Loud and Astro World sold out in record time according to Ticketmaster, which just goes to show the level of demand for the return of live music. Moreover, another positive is that musicians can once again put 

on concerts and tours which benefits independent musicians especially with this being a large part of how they generate their income. 

Madison Square Garden held its first concert since the pandemic began in June of 2021, which saw the Foo Fighters perform to over 15,000 people. But crucially all the fans that attended had to show proof that they were vaccinated before the show to gain access. While this is not always the case, some venues now require people to be vaccinated and give proof of a recent negative COVID test. Other new implementations that we have seen are socially distanced concerts and concerts where mask-wearing is required. These changes are to ensure that everyone attending live events is safe from COVID. 

There is an obvious desire for live music not just by fans but also the musicians themselves, amplified by the fact that we have been without it for over a year. But with the world's current state, it’s going to take time for things to completely go back to normal as we have seen with many restrictions being created to ensure the safety of everyone attending these live events. These are things that we must become accustomed to for the time being whilst we wait for the world situation to improve. 

Nathan Sang