Various industries have been heavily affected by the Covid 19 pandemic and the creative industry is no exception. With the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic and its drastic effects on the arts sector, those technologically enabled had a chance to explore their creativity online, it is the disadvantaged groups that had little or no activities when the restrictions were tightened. This is an awakening that calls for a serious look at the arts industry in terms of how to prepare, equip and empower creatives during hard times like these when we are faced with the deadly pandemic where almost all their activities such as shows or festivals are prohibited or limited in attendance numbers. Most artists depend on their art for sustenance. Art is a business and it must be treated likewise. Survival strategies need to be developed.
While some have been mourning the impacts of Covid 19 on their operations, there are some creatives who continue to take this period as a way of re-inventing, rediscovering and perfecting their art, something they never had time to do due to their busy schedules before the advent of Corona virus. This is the time when they can introspectively and constructively critique their art with the aim of doing better than before. The following are some of the comments from the creatives explaining how Cocid 19 affected their operations.
I tried engaging into different small businesses such as selling clothes, beverages, food and all that came my way that could keep money flowing. It was a hustle indeed. I got involved in women social clubs such as Money Tree and Sisters club. which also helped me out in keeping my music going. I recently relocated to South Africa where I had a part-time job at a clothing factory, I have also opened my own Blog where I will soon start to use it for my multiple business ideas such as Cutie G Store online where I will be selling cosmetics, clothing, and Hair products, and Cutie G Music where I will focus on selling my music and lyrics. It was not easy to do adjustments trust me. Shifting from always doing music in studio, music shows into other businesses was no joke and that lockdown was set 2 days before my Album launch and I had to cancel it. (Cutie G)
As an artist manager, waking up to Covid 19 reality was a major blow because I remember at that time we had just released DoUB’s album called Lingo and we were getting bookings for April shows. We had so much lined up, things that were already in motion so that meant with Covid 19 lockdown restrictions we couldn’t do anything anymore and we just had to chill. It took me a while to adapt to the situation because of the depression and disbelief of everything that was happening where even to just step out of your house one needed permission. I then accepted the situation and focused more on building an online presence not only for DoUB but I was also doing PR for different artists such as getting them played on radio stations and arranging interviews online (Michelle Zee)
As a music producer I was affected by covid in many ways just like any other creative in the music industry as we depend on each other for our businesses to flourish. The lockdown limited working hours; this meant that a few dollars were coming in as we were meant to observe the curfew time and other restrictive measures. I had to stay home too to be safe during the outbreak and only have one or two artists come to record per week, something different from what I used to do before the Covid 19 outburst, the cash flow was quite low for reasons I have mentioned. The restrictions on public activities and the indefinite closure of the arts sector surely left us jobless with little or nothing to feed our families. (Kuda Kay)
Covid 19 surely shut down all our revenue generation streams especially considering that we largely depend on shows to make money, the other thing is that I am not yet selling my song on digital platforms because I have not yet reached the numbers necessary for one to be able to make money out of their art using online platforms. This is an area where I need to be enlightened about as digitalization is the norm nowadays and all creatives must embrace this kind of innovation. (Kay Kid)
The Covid 19 pandemic and the lockdown regulations gave us a wide awakening to explore other opportunities so that we are prepared to work even under unfortunate circumstances. We had a good period to explore what we can do as the Bry brand. We are thankful to God as I can safely say that we managed to keep going where we lost many things and at the same time we gained many things. We had a lot of ups and downs but all was under control as we had all our hope and faith in God. So thankful to my family, Bry Team and everyone else who cherishes my brand. (Bry)
Covid 19 just came unexpectedly and disrupted a lot of our activities in the arts industry especially considering that not all of us have that digital culture where we can monetise our art on digital platforms. During this hard period under strict lockdown restrictions I did a lot of promotional activities, marketing and advertising for various companies online. At least this is what kept me going. Bhadillah.
, I even resorted to poultry, this is my side hustle, I love my passion for music but then at the end of the day I need to put food on the table, this can only be possible if I have a viable income generation occupation. Its quite difficult to stay afloat under covid 19 lockdown regulations, though the restrictions have been relaxed the impact has been heavy on us too as fine artists. We have lost jobs, income and livelihood with concerts and events having been halted (Anonymous)
As artists we love music and the more we love music the more we love our fans. When you are taken away from your fans it’s the same as being separated from your family and the feeling is depressing. As artists our family is our fans and you can imagine the pain of separation due to the spread of covid 19 and lockdown restrictions on many activities that physically bring us closer to our fans. We were not only separated from our fans due to covid, we were also detached from our usual ways of making money. I managed to accept the situation, made use of home studios where I recorded some tracks, technology assisted a lot, otherwise it was going to be tougher under the lockdown, with limited innovation. Some artists reveal that they do not have families except their fans and due to covid 19 regulations they are suddenly in a state where they cannot see them to express their talent to them, then depression creeps in. It was very painful to live with the fact of knowing that for now we have no choice we are just forced to be indoors and that is traumatic, a lot of people like me were affected and this is something that no one saw coming. Some of us had plans for making income, imagine someone who did not available on social media platforms because they do not have a proper phone for access to promote their art on social media, I am one of the privileged who managed to promote their music on social networks for revenue generation. Faith also kept me going as I believed that this will come to pass. We need to heal; we went through a lot, we still in it, Covid is real, relaxed regulation levels will keep us going. (Jaycee RapAddict)
Covid 19 has drastically affected most of us. No shows, no parties and these are some of the activities that we relied on for sustenance, then this meant no money from our art, we had to look for side hustles and it was surely difficult to adjust in finding something else to do to keep us going. Studio time money was hard to raise hence even recording songs was a privilege to a few. We were hard hit by covid 19 lockdown regulations. We are now hopeful that things will improve and we will be able to have more physical functions that will ensure that we put food on our table. We are hopeful that even bar owners and other businesses will be able to invite us since they also need to recover from the loss due to Covid 19 lockdown regulations. The impact has been quite severe, we were just forced to stay home and be less productive. With some conditions eased, its workable now though its not the same as before the covid 19 pandemic.
(Zagoe Radge)
When others were benefiting from their art, the covid 19 allowances, I was left in awe on why I was not one of the beneficiaries, only to discover the importance of formalising my art. I am ready to register my project and enjoy benefits just like any other artists who is registered. (Anonymous) The challenges associated with the covid 19 lockdown regulations as stated above by artists, present a useful area of research that needs to be addressed by the Creatives magazine. A look at the survival strategies under lockdown be it due to widespread of diseases or any other national or international unrest need to be identified and implemented so that the creatives remain relevant and more productive in their areas of focus. Digitalisation and its possible opportunities for creatives need to be highlighted for the benefit of both budding and renowned artists with limited knowledge on how they can monetise their creativity using online platforms.
