Coronavirus: Travis McCready plays America's first gig in months

Written by Mark Savage — The gig, in Arkansas, offered a glimpse of how live music could resume in the UK, with compulsory temperature tests and social distancing for all present.

Concert-goers were required to buy seats in clusters, branded "fan pods", and large areas were roped off.

"It's just nice to be doing something that's normal," said one attendee.

McCready's concert was originally scheduled for Friday, 15 May, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but Governor Asa Hutchinson said it failed to meet the state's public health standards.

The venue - a former Masonic temple called TempleLive - was threatened with a cease-and-desist order and had its alcohol licence revoked.

But after making adjustments to their concert plan, the venue received permission to stage the concert on Monday night.

Under the state-approved plan, all employees and audience members over the age of 10 were required to wear face coverings, and performers were instructed to maintain a minimum distance of 12 feet from the audience.

The state also allowed TempleLive to have 239 people seated in the 1,100-seat venue.

'Fight for your right'

After receiving the go-ahead, representatives from the venue maintained they had delayed the concert against their will.

"This is about rock and roll, and having a good time, and live music, and being out with your peers, and doing what you do as an American: You get out, you do things," Mike Brown told reporters at Arkansas TV station KFSM-TV.

Speaking to the New York Times, Mr Brown also argued that concert venues were being held to stricter standards than other public gatherings.

"If you can go to a church and it's a public assembly, there is no difference," said Mike Brown, a representative for Temple Live. "How is it OK for one group to have a public meeting, and it's not OK for a music venue to have the same opportunity?"

State officials argued that a concert was more dangerous than a religious gathering because it was more likely to attract visitors from out-of-town.

When the show finally went ahead on Monday night, Mr Brown greeted the audience by playing the Beastie Boys' Fight For Your Right (To Party) before introducing support act Lauren Brown.

McCready took to the stage later, without referencing the strange circumstances. Nonetheless, fans seemed to appreciate the show.

"We're happy to be here," said LaLisa Smiddy, who drove four hours to attend the concert.

"I'm one of the more paranoid ones out there, and when I saw everything this venue has done, I was ready to come," she told the New York Times. "I think they've done an outstanding job."

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Post-Pandemic Music Industry Predictions: The Great Divide Between Embraced And Impacted

Written by Brian Penick — It’s 4:00 a.m. and I’m lying awake thinking about work. But this time isn’t just about my business, it’s about ours––specifically, what the “new normal” of the music industry will look like after COVID-19 is officially in the past.

Many great articles are being written about how musicians can survive these unprecedented times, from how to host live concerts, learn platforms like Twitch and how fans can support artists, among others. I’m curious how our industry will embrace and respond to change––something we historically have not been the best at dealing with, as evidenced by the transition from physical sales to streaming, adopting new technologies, music licensing rights and countless other scenarios.

Based on conversations with everyone from artists to investors and my 20-plus years experience working in music (as a musician, in startups and venture capital), here is the first of a series in my predictions for the post-pandemic music industry.

“Creatives” are often thought of as lacking business skills, which is a myth I hope to contribute towards debunking. In my time working to develop artists, from indie to platinum-level, the most successful have been the most entrepreneurially minded. Regardless of where an artist may sit on the business spectrum, I believe this period of change will produce two types of musicians: the “Embraced” and the “Impacted.”

The Embraced musician is an entrepreneur birthed out of necessity. Living by the creed of “desperate times call for desperate measures,” these individuals will find every opportunity to sustain their careers. Performing livestream concerts at home, video messaging with fans, custom songwriting for hire, teaching lessons online, continued education or even writing a catchy pandemic-themed song are all creative outlets to explore. The Embraced musician will create an opportunity out of what others deem a crisis. 

The Impacted musician, however, will not fare as well. While everyone has their own unique circumstances and privilege that need to be taken into account, there will be some musicians who objectively view the pandemic as a brick wall that cannot be climbed. The desire may be there, but the motivation to put need into tangible action may be lacking. This, unfortunately, is something I have experienced with several of my (previous) artist clients, ultimately preventing talented musicians from finding success. 

Regardless of their reasoning, the Impacted segment will have an even more difficult time post-pandemic casually reapproaching music, from repetitive live performances to infrequent social media marketing and unwillingness to adopt new technology. Musicians who continue with the “business as usual” philosophy will be further distanced from those who embrace the change. The real question is: what type of musician are you?

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7 Lessons All Musicians Should Learn From #Prince - #musicbusiness #news

On behalf of all of us at the Freedom Radio Hour, we are deeply and profoundly saddened to learn of the passing of an icon, Prince. While he is no longer with us, his words and actions will continue to teach us for an eternity. Below are 7 lessons all musicians should learn from Prince:

Written by Christopher DeArcangelis -- There are musicians, and then there’s Prince. The uncompromising iconoclast formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson has been starting parties and baffling critics since the day he stepped out onto the Minneapolis funk and rock scene in the late 1970s. Combining elements of wailing guitar rock, funky R&B, and psychedelic funk music with sexual and political lyrics put Prince at the top of the charts and made him a high priority for conservative politicians in the White House and Senate.

In his prime, Prince dominated the charts, sold out tours, starred in the feature film Purple Rain, was nominated for Grammys, and wrote breakout songs for up-and-coming performers. All this while being one of the most divisive performers of the time, polarizing the pop world with his in-your-face attitude and unique approach to making music.

Much of Prince’s success can be attributed to his blending of classic pop music concepts with modern and post-modern ideas. Prince is still one of the most enigmatic musicians around, causing controversy and speculation with his every appearance. He has enjoyed over 30 years of success creating many different kinds of music for many different people. Indeed, there are many things we can learn from this pioneer of pop music. Here are seven things that all musicians should learn from Prince.

1. Take risks

Prince was a pioneer in what you might call "shock rock," taking the androgynous concepts created by Alice Cooper and David Bowie into funkier territory. He regularly took somewhat shocking images of himself in compromising situations. He was no stranger to high fashion, appearing just as tough as he was beautiful. This also translated to Prince’s music. He rarely repeated himself in his songwriting, moving quickly from style to style on each record he made. His lyrics covered taboo and risqué subject matter, sometimes getting highly liberal in his politics. Many people were outraged, but many more were inspired and listened closely to his incredibly witty and clever lyrics.

2. Play multiple instruments

While Prince’s antics and persona often got the most attention, his musicianship remains unrivaled. Capable of playing just about any instrument, the majority of his recordings feature him playing all of the instruments. He would take it even further, developing techniques performing with new musical technologies like drum machines and synthesizers. On top of this, he has firmly established himself as a guitar god, playing some of the most intense guitar solos and leads this side of Jimi Hendrix.

3. Learn how to produce and engineer recordings

Prince wasn’t just amazing at playing instruments – he led the production and engineering on nearly all of his recorded output. And he didn’t just push faders: Prince created wholly unique ways to multi-track, pitch shift, and create sounds that would influence an entire generation of musicians. His ability to use the studio as an instrument, crafting entire landscapes of pulsating sounds and vocals, remains unrivaled by all but the best in the business.

4. Embrace new technology

Don’t mistake Prince for someone who simply had enough money to afford to crack open expensive machines. Because of the success of Prince’s bare-bones third album Dirty Mind (which was recorded by Prince himself, at his Minneapolis home, with little of the synths and drum machines that would define his sound on the recordings), Prince finally made some money. And like a wise musician, he turned around and updated his gear with the most modern sounds he could find. He would go as far to rewire and hack his Linn LM-1 to create wholly original drum sounds and hand claps that would become a part of his trademark sound.

5. Expand your songwriting horizons

Prince had a wide range of musical tastes, crafting everything from hardcore dance songs to silky smooth ballads and all points in between. He could be shredding a high-gain guitar lead in one song and then playing a lilting piano chord progression in the other. This sort of dynamic in songwriting is beneficial to listeners, giving them something to listen to when they're feeling certain moods and offering them reasons to reexamine and revisit an artist’s repertoire.

6. Collaborate with other people outside your project

Prince played with an amazing number of musicians considering he mostly recorded his music by himself. In addition to the many musicians who have played in his live band, Prince made a very large name for himself crafting some of the greatest songs for other artists to sing. People like Sinead O’Connor, Sheila E, and the Bangles had massive success on the charts with songs penned by Prince, even at times when his own self-released songs were dominating the charts, too.

7. Take the time to craft your image

Many musicians shy away from crafting a sort of persona or even dressing up onstage. There’s many a reason to go either direction, but there's a lot to be said about how Prince handled his persona. By creating a larger-than-life image of his own extremes, Prince added a convincing legitimacy to his music and lyrics. Instead of being merely a cartoon character (though there is much humor in Prince’s music), Prince could challenge your views on sex, gender, racism, classism, and art itself without letting you miss a beat at your favorite dance club. This is largely a result of how people perceived his persona. 

By giving the audience something to understand, Prince connected with many more people than if he came out and directly said, "This is me."

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