Online music company Bandcamp has said it will waive revenue shares on music sales for a day to help musicians reeling from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
For 24 hours from 6pm AEDT on Friday 20 March, the company will not collect their cut of music sales in an effort to “put much-needed money directly into artists’ pockets”.
Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond said artists have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many having all tours and shows cancelled for the foreseeable future.
“For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not,” he said in a statement.
“With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it.”
Bandcamp usually takes a 15 per cent sales share on digital items and 10 per cent on physical items.
Mr Diamond said the platform was “already seeing many fans going above and beyond to support artists”.
“It may sound simple, but the best way to help artists is with your direct financial support,” he said.
“Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come.”
Various festivals, concerts and arts events were quickly cancelled after the Federal Government advised last week that .
The industry has seen estimated losses of $150 million in revenue, according to , a website that has been tracking event cancellations and postponements.
Arts Minister Paul Fletcher met with leaders from various arts bodies on Tuesday to discuss some of the challenges that have stemmed from the pandemic.
“It is clear that COVID-19 presents significant issues for our arts organisations – and like all Australians, they are showing great community spirit in calmly and efficiently dealing with the circumstances they are facing in the near-term so we can come through this challenging period,” Mr Fletcher said.
