The German Government Has Given Destruction Financial Aid
Here in America, getting the government to give your small business some financial relief during these difficult times has proven to be, um, challenging, to put it mildly. Not for nothing did Vince recently suggest to me that we might have been better off opening a chain of steakhouses or investing in a NBA franchise than starting, y’know, an actual small business.
Fortunately, this has not been the case all over the world. In fact, while the U.S. government is about as likely to help out a metal band in need as they are to offer free health universal healthcare, Destruction vocalist/bassist Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer tells the Scars and Guitars podcast that the German government has been nothing but benevolent towards the long-running Teutonic thrash band:
“We’ve been really scared to death when all of the shows got canceled, because we basically make our money with live shows. Nowadays, when physical sales are down and people are streaming, there’s not enough money coming in from an album, so we have to play live. Luckily, the German government [has been offering] some help with small businesses. As Destruction is a company, we got emergency help. [The process has been] quick and less bureaucratical than normal in Germany, because it’s a very bureaucratic country here — everything takes time, and a lot of applications that you have to fill out. But this was actually quite fast, like they promised everybody, and I think that really helps us at this moment now to survive.”
The inadvertent LULZ provided by calling Germany “a very bureaucratic country” aside, this is great to hear. It may also be the first time I’ve ever been jealous of someone who lives in Germany.
Still, Schmier admits that Destruction ain’t outta the woods yet:
“Now that everything’s loosening up, it looks like there’s gonna be concerts happening this year. We have canceled everything till November. So November-December hopefully is gonna happen. Before this, I don’t know. So we don’t know yet how we’re gonna get through this, because nobody has big savings here; we’re a rock and roll band — we spend our money, and we don’t earn that much. But so far, I’m not looking into a total crash, but, of course, it’s a little threatening at the moment. But I’m trying to stay positive. We’re a band, and we have also, luckily, other incomes that come in here and there — merchandise and streaming [statements] are coming in every couple of months. So this whole thing will keep us alive until we can play again. It won’t be easy, but I’m actually happy to say that my government helped us at this point, and therefore Germany has done a lot of good [for smaller businesses]. They’re trying to help the people — as good as they can, of course. I mean, you’re paying also a lot of taxes here, so finally it’s time for the government to pay it back. It’s how the system should work.”
He’s right — it is how the system should work. Maybe somebody could mention that the politicians on this side of the Atlantic?
You can listen to the entire interview below.
[via Metal Injection]
