BY VICTORIA GILLETT AND RIYA KIRAN

Live-streaming, drive-in concerts and socially distanced booths - this is the new landscape for live music in Australia amid COVID-19.

At the beginning of April, MOJO News gained exclusive insight into just how hard the live music scene had been hit in 2020. Now as Melbourne and other parts of Australia open up, artists are looking at new and innovative ways to share their music. 

Earlier in October, Bulli Showgrounds in Wollongong was packed with 400 cars that watched Australian band Hockey Dad perform at the ‘Alive At The Drive-In’ show. 

Before restrictions were introduced, Melbourne was constantly buzzing with live music events that defined its city culture, but since the series of lockdown measures began in March, the fate of these events has been uncertain. 

2020 has been a challenging year for artists, fans and music industry staff, with all shows and tours cancelled or rescheduled indefinitely. 

Artists turned to virtual platforms to share their music, as well as sending a plea to the government in the form of an open letter and petition.

The letter was written on behalf of the Australian music industry and details the devastating effects of lockdown. The petition has currently been signed by more than 17,000 people.

“The Australian music sector fell off a cliff on March 13 when the government made the correct and prudent decision to shut the nation down,” the letter reads. 

Virtual gigs

Isol-Aid was an online music festival introduced in March after the first lockdown restrictions were introduced.

Organised to provide relief for musicians and music industry workers, Isol-Aid became a quarantine hit. The virtual Australian music festival featured local artists streaming live, 20-minute long sets, via their own Instagram accounts. 

At the National Live Music Awards on October 20, Isol-Aid won a Special Achievement award for going above and beyond for the live music sector during the pandemic. 

However, artist manager with CRS Music, Poppy Tohill, has first-hand experience of the toll taken on musicians when tours and gigs have been cancelled.

“Touring is a huge source of income for most artists, and not being able to build on one’s current successes through live performances and interaction with media and fans can be detrimental to any artist’s career,” Ms Tohill said. 

Melbourne hip-hop artist HANCOQ labelled the lockdown period a “blessing and a curse”. With numerous projects lined up for 2020 including live shows, HANCOQ's live music career was put on hold.

HANCOQ performed new singles on Isol-Aid, and gained new listeners in the process. Although grateful for the opportunity, he said the online gig was “not a vibe”.

“When it comes to hip-hop, I know what a good show feels like and that wasn’t that,” HANCOQ said.

Local Melbourne artist and lead singer of band Fake Sibling, Sophie Officer, expressed similar concerns for online and socially distanced concerts that limited interactions between artists and their fans.

“On one hand it's great to be back out, on the stage or in the crowd, but it won't have the same feeling of being immersed,” Ms Officer said.

She said she has been "riding the corona-coaster" by writing music with her band remotely.

“I haven't been feeling the creativity much," she said. "Without the live tangibility, it loses that vital, visceral dimension, and as an artist, that's the majority of how you connect with your audience and build a following.”

However Ms Officer said she sees that virtual and socially distanced gigs might be the best option in a tough reality.

“Intimate gigs are great, but not when you have an invisible virus in the back of your mind.”

Is help on offer?

Through their Live Music Venue Grants, the Victorian Government has announced a $9 million first round allocation to more than 100 venues around Victoria.

“Victoria has always been the live music capital of Australia, and we'll make sure it stays that way,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said via a Facebook post in September.

Yah Yah’s in Fitzroy, a 200-capacity live music venue, was included in the first government allocation. Venue booker for Yah Yah’s, Taylor Poole, has felt the impacts of COVID-19 first-hand.

“Within a day, the entire music industry shut down,” Ms Poole said.

March 2020 was consumed by rescheduling and refunding events organised for the upcoming months, now as the State of Emergency continues, Ms Poole is unsure when and if they will ever happen.

“We’re not going to have shows ‘til god knows when,” she said.

Due to restrictions, Ms Poole said the legal capacity of Yah Yah's is capped at 50 people and therefore running events under such circumstances "isn't feasible”.

“You can’t make money off of 50 people. After this wave, I think we’ll see announcements of venues being up for sale or shutting down completely,” Ms Poole said.

In order to aid live music venues, Danny Pearson, the newly announced Minister for Creative Industries, has promised to “safely support jobs across the spectrum- on stage, back of stage [and] in the office”.

“The pandemic has hit our creative organisations hard, and they need support to keep employing, commissioning and serving their communities,” Mr Pearson said.

Mr Pearson has promised $7.85 million in grants to 78 arts and cultural organisations to help creative businesses develop COVID-safe practices.

Socially distanced gigs - are they the future?

Some artists have chosen to undertake socially distanced outdoor gigs in order to continue performing and receiving the support of local fans.

In August, English musician Sam Fender performed a series of socially distanced shows at the Virgin Money Unity Arena in the UK, which housed individual enclosures that could hold up to five fans. 

In New Zealand, CRS music management held a series of four socially distanced gigs called "Together Again," which were a sell-out success.

Artist manager Ms Tohill explained that, similarly to virtual performances, socially distanced gigs also have downfalls. She said the physical distance between the artist and audience is “its biggest downfall”.

“That distance creates a physical and emotional barrier between the artists and the audience alike that makes it extremely difficult to fully connect and experience that sense of release and escapism traditional live shows offer,” Ms Tohill said.

Following a successful test run in New Zealand, ticketing site Live Nation stated in June that they would be attempting to bring COVID-safe shows to Australia in the following months, however these plans were stalled due to cost-effectiveness issues. 

Melbourne has started to ease restrictions and is getting closer to a COVID normal way of life, but unless coronavirus case numbers continue to stay low, virtual and socially distanced gigs may be the new reality.