MAY | FEATURE
Viral warfare
A number of social media campaigns have sprung up
around the live and outdoor events industry, offering
support to those in need during the Covid-19 crisis.
Access examines a few of the viral campaigns
campaigning against the virus.
Spotify’s Covid-19 Relief Fund
Spotify is matching all donations (up
to USD$10m) to a number of charities
which support artists. These include
MusiCares, the PRS Foundation, Help
Musicians, the Centre National de la
Musique and Unison Benevolent Fund.
#UnitedWeStream
#LightItBlue
Major venues across the UK have been
showing solidarity with the hard
work and selflessness of NHS staff.
#LightItBlue has seen landmarks such
as The Shard, The O2, the Royal Albert
Hall, ExCeL London, Glasgow’s SSE
Hydro and Belfast’s Titanic lit up in
NHS colours at 8pm on Thursdays.
Greater Manchester’s Night Time
Economy Adviser and Parklife Founder
Sacha Lord has masterminded the
UK launch of United We Stream.
The project, which began in Berlin,
showcases livestreams every night
at from 7pm onwards, featuring
artists and performers from across
Manchester. Funds raised go towards
struggling venues across the city.
#StopPanicBuying
Agencies have been putting their
marketing wisdom to use as well – One
Minute Briefs and Scriba PR held a
competition to try and tackle the UK’s
panic-buying problem as lockdown
measures were coming into force. The
elegant ‘keep calm and carry one’ poster
was the eventual winner.
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Gigseekr’s Grassroots Music Fund
Another crowdfund aimed at
supporting small venues, this time from
live music discovery website Gigseekr.
The Grassroots Music Fund is asking for
donations which will go towards artists,
venues and production companies
working on gigs with up to 500 capacity.
Musicians Union’s Hardship Fund
#VirtualPint
Green House Group set up a crowdfund
to raise money for music venues,
encouraging people to buy ‘virtual pints’
from a menu with variously priced
drinks. 50% of the proceeds went to
Music Venue Trust, with the other 50%
going to small and independent venues.
Musicians Union has set up an
emergency £1m fund for members in
need of immediate financial aid. The
fund provides small grants of £200 to
give urgent relief to artists struggling
because of Covid-19. There is also a
crowdfund for raising additional funds
to top up the Hardship Fund.