Theodore Kim
V00960161
Music 116
Dr. Patrick Boyle
December 1, 2020

Blog Prompt 9

In consideration of the whole point of Session 11, discuss how a musician can succeed in Covid times. What adaptations can they implement? What specific challenges do they face? Incorporate specific examples.

Covid restrictions on social gatherings and public events present some of the main challenges for musicians during the pandemic. A group of fellow music students and I planned on attending our professor’s early December concert, but it was postponed due to new Covid restrictions. These restrictions likely stunted concert revenue, and stole the performers’ chance to show their hard work, and expose themselves to audiences. One might argue that offering music online would pay better and provide more exposure than in-person gigs, but the volume of online content, and technological learning curve makes success in the virtual world difficult.

This exercise inspired me to explore lo-fi music on YouTube. While new tracks and compilations emerge regularly, many receive little attention. I believe, though, that platforms like YouTube are a great way to share content and get known. As an aside, I dream of one day finding an idea worth creating a YouTube channel for! I also suggest ‘paying it forward’ to other budding musicians by deliberately seeking out new content. This can be as simple as selecting from the ‘most recent’ posts on YouTube for lo-fi music.

A musician with an online following could spruce up their merch business by organizing raffles/contests/lotteries that offer products or other desirable things. The cost of entry could be a fee, or simply a ‘like’ and comment on the video, and a subscription to the musician’s online profile.

Alternatively, a musician could leave a bowl of CDs on a table in front of their home, and return horrified to see all but the CDs gone.