Mark Mulligan:

This model worked fine when live and merch were booming because more than three times as many monetised fans meant three times more opportunity for selling tickets and t-shirts. This of course is the ‘exposure’ argument streaming services are fond of, which works until it does not. Now that live and merch have collapsed, as the trope goes ‘exposure does not pay the rent’. The previously interconnected, interdependent model has become decoupled.

Stuart Dredge:

All of this is being driven by streaming (and particularly by paid streaming subscriptions), yet this growth is accompanied by a resurgence in unrest from the musicians whose work has made that growth possible. Many are worried that streaming royalties aren’t providing a sustainable income.

The contrast between these fears and the rosy industry figures is sharpened now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the live music industry having shut down entirely in many countries, with an anticipated hit to public performance royalties to come.

I’ve seen a lot of interesting articles popping up about how the current model for the music industry was (kinda) working … right up until live shows were removed from the equation. I’m afraid we’re going to see quite a few smaller to mid-sized bands just not return after all of this is over.

Billboard:

So Adelman and Worek, the operations director, spent the past month crowd-sourcing more than 400 tour promoters, managers, Ticketmaster employees, caterers and Irish-fair organizers and released a 29-page guide on Monday. Given contradictory, confusing and evolving state stay-at-home restrictions — bars in Kansas are allowed to open as of May 18 at half capacity, while live concerts resume in Branson, Missouri, this coming Friday — organizers of the non-profit concert-business group decided to add expertise and clarity.

Nick Heer:

But, most of all, legitimate services will struggle to replace the community that grew naturally within What.cd. It was a place willed into existence by people who truly love music, not something that labels constructed to attract customers, and it was held together by that community. Some digital music services have tried to create similar connections — Apple Music and Spotify users can share their playlists, and iTunes users of the past could do the same with iMixes. Apple, in particular, has tried a little too hard on two separate occasions to turn music into a social network, with little success.

Make no mistake: I understand the legal and ethical ramifications of torrent trackers and file sharing. I would vastly prefer to pay artists — and it’s just the right thing to do. It was merely a perk that What.cd was free, but I do not see that as its defining characteristic. If it were a legitimate streaming service, but was otherwise exactly the same, I would have paid many times the amount of my current Apple Music monthly subscription. That’s how good it was.

I thought this was a really well written, and thought provoking, piece on current music streaming services and where they succeed and fail compared to the piracy platforms that came before.

Billboard:

MusiCares announced Thursday (April 30) that its COVID-19 Relief Fund is depleted and that it has been forced to stop accepting new applications.

“Unfortunately, until we can raise more money for our COVID-19 Relief Fund, we can no longer accept new applications from those seeking assistance. While our goal is always to provide support to everyone in need, we are currently bound by the funds available,” the Foundation said in a statement.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been rescheduled to November 7th.

Leslie Goldman, writing at Vox:

The closures are a way to enforce social distancing, a crucially important public health intervention that can help stop coronavirus transmission by avoiding crowds and large gatherings such as weddings, concerts, conferences, sporting events, and mass transit. Best practice requires maintaining at least a six-foot distance between yourself and others.

You may have already come into contact with an infected person — the woman who rode the bike before you at SoulCycle, the kindly fellow who coughed while standing next to you in line at Costco, or someone who touched your mail as it made its way to your mailbox. (At least one study estimates that about 25 percent of transmissions of coronavirus may have occurred in pre-symptomatic stages — meaning it may be spread by people who don’t yet know they have the virus.)

Things are really weird right now. Waking up to the various news headlines on my phone feels impossibly surreal. We’re still trying to figure out everything and what our lives are going to look like going forward. Hannah’s currently in our kitchen doing violin lessons over Skype and I’ve got beach sounds going through my headphones to block out the world and get some work done. I thought this article did a good job walking through how and what our responsibilities and lives should look like going forward in the short to medium term.

Stay safe out there, and wash your damn hands.

Billboard:

Recognizing national concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, Live Nation is instructing its touring shows to prepare to return home, Billboard has learned. The announcement affects all Live Nation tours, domestically and internationally.

Earlier Thursday (March 12) the company told employees it is hitting the pause button on current touring arena shows through the end of the month. A few shows will play out Thursday and Friday, but the remainder of the shows starting this weekend will be postponed.

In the Atlantic, Alan Taylor has put together a photo gallery of various public spaces that are now virtually empty due to COVID-19.