What a difference a few days make! A week and a half ago I left for New Orleans for a mix of business and pleasure and this week my wife and I are back in Calgary in self-isolation (we feel fine). Everyone I know has been impacted by this both professionally and personally. In particular, I feel for venues and artists who are being forced into indefinite hiatus. We have been using Stagehand to track aggregate artist compensation over the past several weeks. Two weeks ago earnings dropped by 13.2%, last week it was another 12.4%, and, based on cancellations I am seeing this week, it is no surprise that it is going to get worse. We don’t pretend to have any silver bullets, but here are some things we at Stagehand are focusing on:
- Take solace in the fact that we are ALL in this together and we will get through it
- Focus on what you can control and do what you can do
- Help your neighbour
We have started reaching out to industry organizations, government, and, of course, our artists and venue friends. We are over three years into this Stagehand adventure; this is a second career for me personally and I learn something new every day. In my old corporate world, there was severance, EI, and HR. In this new world, artists and venue owners operate without a net, so the potential for impact is more severe. How can you support them? In the short term, buying gift certificates from your favourite venues or merch from your favourite artists can provide some immediate cash flow relief.
We will learn from this crisis and we would like to hear from you. If you have ideas for how we might help please reach out at info@stagehand.app
Stay safe!
Derek Manns
Co-founder & CEO
Stagehand