Musicians go online, pass the hat to try to survive
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Tom Breiding performs at Leaf & Bean in August.
Paul Jacobs was scheduled to perform at Westminster Presbyterian Church in March but his concert was one of the first in the area to be canceled as the threat of the coronavirus gained force.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Guitarist Dan Baker plays a guitar in 2018.
Tom Breiding released a new album in January, and this spring would have been the perfect time to bring attention to it through the live performances at the venues where he is regularly booked throughout the Pittsburgh region.
All of the shows the Peters Township singer-songwriter had lined up were scratched in mid-March when the coronavirus began creeping into every corner of the country. That included a May 1 show to celebrate the album’s release. And there’s no reliable indication yet when Breiding will be able to safely stand before an audience with his guitar again.
“My career is at a complete stop,” Breiding said. “All of my scheduled shows have been canceled.”
Breiding has been laid off from his full-time job, and has lost more than 30 scheduled performances, including a United Mine Workers convention in Las Vegas, and most likely the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Oklahoma in July, which he calls “my creative highlight each summer.”
He added, “I have absolutely no income as I await my unemployment status.”
Breiding is one of thousands of musicians in the United States and around the world that have been sidelined. High-profile tours by the Rolling Stones, James Taylor and Ringo Starr that had been due to come to Pittsburgh in early summer have been postponed or canceled, and the entire lucrative summer concert season is hanging in doubt. According to Nielsen Music, 52% of Americans attended a live music event of some sort in 2018. Estimates are that live music generated a little more than $10 billion in revenue in both 2018 and last year.
Of course, veteran, big-name artists can cancel a tour and not miss a payment on their private jets and country estates. But musicians who rely on playing in clubs, bars and restaurants to pay their bills have been left trying to find new ways to make money.
Some are offering up “living room” performances on social media, or through platforms like Stageit, where admirers can watch after paying what they want or can afford. Some are also taking to a platform like Patreon, where fans can pay a fixed fee each month and get exclusive songs, essays and other goodies.
Along with his own solo work, Breiding is also a guitarist in Hard Rain, the band that backs Pittsburgh-area singer-songwriter Bill Toms. A tour of Italy, where Toms has a following, has been postponed until November, and other planned shows have been axed.
“Our organization is looking to lose over $12,000,” Toms said. “That of course doesn’t include merchandise and CD sales at shows.”
If not for the coronavirus, Washington native Paul Jacobs would have been playing the organ this week with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. It was, of course, canceled. Jacobs was set to appear at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair in March, but it was one of the first events canceled as the threat of the coronavirus gathered force. Concerts in suburban New York, suburban Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Poland have all been nixed.
Jacobs, who also teaches at the Juilliard School in New York, explained, “These changes obviously impact performing musicians’ bottom lines, but, fortunately, many presenters are committed to rescheduling to future dates, not canceling them outright. So there is hope.”
Dan Baker, a guitarist in Washington, offers frequent “Dinner With Dan” performances on Facebook to stay in touch with fans and friends. Viewers can support the performances through Patreon and PayPal. Regular, in-person gigs at the President’s Pub and Al’ an Rubens Bar and Grill in Washington have evaporated, along with shows at birthday parties and other private events.
He also teaches guitar, and some of those classes have moved online. But Baker said it’s not the same as being in the same room with a student and hearing them find their way around a fretboard.
“You can’t play together,” Baker said. “You teach them how to play in the pocket. With Skype, there’s too much lag.”
If there’s an upside to be had in the decimation of the live music market, it is the blossoming of performances online. Baker calls it “a cool model.” Andrea Iglar, the communications and community development director for South Fayette Township and a member of the band fronted by her father, Dave Iglar, believes the coronavirus lockdowns and the proliferation of online performances will alter how musicians work.
“This is definitely going to change things,” Iglar said. “There’s still no substitute for live music, but there are a lot of options to perform. I wouldn’t be surprised after this is over if it changes the paradigm.”
Nevertheless, when the day finally arrives when musicians can again ply their craft in front of paying audiences who are in close proximity, Jacobs believes live performance will be more intensely appreciated by both performers and their listeners.
“These are bizarre and anxious times for everyone, and we can only hope that a return to normalcy comes sooner rather than later,” he said. “When it does, public music-making should take upon deeper and more profound meaning.”