How To Support Metal Bands As Covid-19 Drags On
Being a music fan in 2020 has been tough. Covid-19 has caused the cancelation of thousands of concerts around the world over by metal bands both huge and small. By now we thought we’d have seen Tool, Rage Against the Machine, and Slipknot this year, with many more in between.
But as hard as it is for us fans to miss out, it’s the bands who are of course hit much harder. Record sales haven’t provided enough income for most bands to live comfortably for years now, and with streaming bands need millions of listens a month to really make any money. Touring has always been the bread-and-butter of musicians.
For this reason, it has been up to us fans to find real ways of supporting our favorite bands financially. We shouldn’t necessarily just give them our money, and they don’t want charity anyway. But there are ways to help support them while getting something of value in return.
Here are some ways to support your favorite metal bands as Covid-19 drags on.
Bandcamp Fridays
Bandcamp has been an important platform for musicians for the past decade. In the age of streaming, it gives fans the opportunity to get music directly from bands (or indie labels), leaving them with more profit than from most streaming platforms.
Early on in the pandemic, Bandcamp decided they would waive their share of profits on the first Friday of every month. Now, if you can hold off on buying the majority of your music until Bandcamp Fridays, everything you pay will go directly to the band.
Streamed shows
While going out to see shows has not been possible, many bands have utilized emerging technology to livestream shows so they can still play live music anyway. Streaming has truly become the home of live music in 2020.
Some bands are sharing their sets for free, simply for the sake of engagement and enjoyment in a difficult time. Other bands who don’t have the luxury to play for free or need to recoup expenses of putting on such a production are charging, but they’re keeping prices reasonable.
If you can’t stream from your location due to censorship or geo-restrictions, you need a VPN. Read ExpressVPN review to find out more about one of the leading VPN providers.
Patreon
A completely different approach that bands have taken to make money is to start a page on Patreon, a service which, like streamed shows, pre-dated the pandemic, but has really taken off of late. With Patreon, fans pay a subscription fee every month to get exclusive content from their favorite bands. Each band offers a range of tiers so there are options for those who can’t afford much more than a few dollars as well as some great benefits for fans who have more cash to spend.
The Patreon model has been very effective at allowing fans to help their favorite bands make music. Fans are directly financing bands rather than paying for a product. In the process, they can participate in a community of like-minded people and get to go behind the scenes of the music-making process.
It will be a while before bands can sell out spacious stadiums again, let alone cramped clubs. While it is tempting to spend the bare minimum on streaming services to listen to your favorite bands, if you have some money to spend, consider supporting them directly so that they can continue to make great music.
