The music industry has never been known for its benefits plans. Major labels, publishing companies and concert promoters may operate on a large enough scale to employ people full-time and offer health insurance, and there are some musicians, venues, studio facilities and marketing firms that can do the same. But many people who either make music or make it possible for you to enjoy music do so as self-employed workers. Chances are, these freelancers have one or more additional jobs to make ends meet, and few have the kind of safety net that's typically available to full-time employees.
MusiCares is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 as an affiliate of the Recording Academy, the organization that awards the Grammys. The nonprofit's goal is to help self-employed music-business workers get access to health care, from dental work and mental health needs to cancer treatment and addiction counseling. On March 17, as necessary safety precautions to slow COVID-19 brought the economy to a standstill, MusiCares established a COVID-19 relief fund to offer financial assistance to musicians and other industry folks whose income streams have dried up. By April 16, the organization had received more than 12,000 applications for assistance from the fund, 6,000 of which had been approved. That's an extraordinary increase in activity.
“We had a landmark year two years ago, where we provided 8,600 individuals financial assistance through the full calendar year, and we were very proud of that,” says Debbie Carroll, MusiCares' vice president for health and human services. “This has certainly been an all-hands-on-deck effort, with both MusiCares and the Recording Academy. Everybody's working well beyond the normal business hours to make sure that people receive the assistance that they need.”
In addition to starting donations to the fund from MusiCares and the Recording Academy, institutions and corporations have made substantial contributions. Musicians who are in a financial position to do so have turned their livestreams into fundraisers, as well. Among many others, R.LUM.R played requests during his recent stream in exchange for donations to the fund, and donations during Amanda Shires' daily streams are split between her band and the fund. By April 9, the fund had grown to $10 million, and donations continue to come in.
While the resources aren't unlimited, the organization had the infrastructure in place to deploy them quickly. The application is an abbreviated version of MusiCares' standard aid application, mostly focused on proving that you've lost work due to the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic. Carroll says there was initial concern that this documentation — often in the form of emails from employers — would be difficult to obtain, but that hasn't proven to be a problem.
The approval process takes about three weeks. Some musicians — like Larissa Maestro, who spoke with the Scene as part of this week's cover package — have already received payments from MusiCares while they're still trying to navigate the process to apply for government unemployment benefits, which were only recently made available for self-employed people.
If you're in need of help, Carroll emphasizes that the best thing you can do collect as much documentation as you can and apply. That goes for her organization and all others offering assistance. It also applies if you have a need for assistance from MusiCares outside COVID-19 relief.
“There's a lot of speculation about what's next, not only for us as a country, but for the music industry,” says Carroll. “We'll continue to keep our thumb on the pulse of the industry and do our part to support it and the individuals in it, regardless of the circumstances — whether it's a coronavirus or a major medical condition or a substance abuse issue. Those issues also continue, regardless of this pandemic. … We're still vetting and assisting those people who need to get into treatment, who need support related to a major medical condition or other life circumstances. We're there, regardless.”
