Covid-19 Coronavirus - Resources for Musicians
/We will continue to update this resource list as more information becomes available.
RESOURCES
Musicares has a relief fund offering a maximum of $1000 “grants” for musicians affected by Coronavirus related show cancellations. More information available here.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering loans for economic disaster relief related to Coronavirus. These are only being offered to certain states right now but just in the past day I have seen the list of affected areas grow. Visit their website here to see if your area is on the list. You will also find the “apply online” link on the same page.
IRS Tax Payments due around July 15 ( 90 days after April 15). Consult with your personal tax preparer. At this point we suggest still trying to file on time - April 15 for personal taxes, but keep in mind that no payment will be due at that moment. Take advantage of this as you will need every spare dollar to get through this time without shows. Read more here. Updated state tax information here.
State disaster relief funds. We don’t know all of the states offering these funds but here is an example for the state of Florida.
Unemployment Insurance - If you are an employee of a company (you get a paycheck and W-2 at year end, not a 1099), then you can likely apply for Unemployment. Check with your state but several have opened up unemployment to workers temporarily out of work due to Coronavirus.
Sweet Relief Musician Fund here.
Ways to Make Money
Below are some income-generating ideas that have worked well. We will continue to update as more ideas rise to the surface:
Releasing unreleased songs with Paypal donate button. See the Steel Wheels example here.
Personalized concerts, lullabies, etc. See David Wax Museum example here.
Question and answer session with donate button. See Rootfire examples here. Though best to see one of these live so you can see how the questions scroll.
Fruition posted a general “ask” and explanation which you can see here.