A new website dedicated to measuring the impacts of COVID-19 on Australian and New Zealand live music, I Lost My Gig, has reported that $25 million has been lost in a span of 24 hours and 84,000 jobs impacted as a direct result of cancelled events in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.


This figure brings the total loss to a massive $47 million and 190,000 jobs impacted across 20,000 cancelled events.


It's a staggering and unprecedented blow to not only Australia's heavy music scene, but the industry at large. With touring becoming an ever-crucial component in growing as an artist, the next couple of months could prove to be brutal. Fortunately, there are ways you can support the bands you love to help them continue on in a time like this:

 

Buy Some Merch

That money you were going to spend on going to that show that isn't happening anymore? Hit up the Bandcamp page of your favourite local bands or wherever it is they stock merch and use that cash to cop something new.


Merch sales are often one of, if not the most important ways for local bands to stay afloat, so this ends up being a great way to show your support. Plus, you get to rep them as you scour the depths of your town/city for any of that elusive toilet paper.

 

Donate

If your wardrobe is already overflowing in black t-shirts then you can always use the money to donate to some fantastic charities involved with supporting Australian/New Zealand musicians.

Support Act are a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing support to the mental/physical health and well-being of artists, crew and music workers; they also provided much-needed relief during the recent Australian bushfire crisis.

MusicHelps offer similar important services for artists based in New Zealand, and are also worth checking out.

Stream, Stream, Stream

While one online stream won't probably amount to much for an artist, the collective efforts of many can help a band out through boosting their monthly listener counts and growing the audience of the band, which could eventually lead to them being able to put on bigger shows once all of this dissipates.


Plus, if you find yourself in isolation and bored out of your mind, you can always chuck on some tunes to help you get through. Here's a playlist of Aussie/New Zealand heavy music we've made which we reckon is worth getting behind:

 

There is currently no telling what further impacts COVID-19 will have on the local live music scene throughout 2020; stay safe out there!