Like most of you, I’ve been watching the events of the past week unfold with mounting anxiety.
With so much inaccurate information and bad advice out there plus a stunning lack of direction and leadership in our government, it was easy to write the Coronavirus off as “just another flu”.
If you’re half paying attention, it’s clearly more than that.
Entire countries don’t go on lockdown for “just another flu”. Lucrative large scale festivals and sporting events don’t cancel on a whim and it’s unheard of for colleges to cancel classes and send their entire student body home for such an extended amount of time.
This is uncharted territory and it IS a big deal.
All of us in the entertainment and hospitality undustry are now faced with some impossible choices.
We are in the business of gathering people together, which is the very thing we need to avoid to keep our community safe and avoid overloading our health care system.
We don’t have the option of working from home.
In the case of The 443, we are also a small, family-owned business that barely survived its first year…and if we don’t open our doors, our revenue drops to zero. Touring artists live off the money they make on the road, and many of our local musician friends don’t have an alternative source of income. There are hundreds of small businesses that stay afloat because of the boost in business they get from things like SXSW or their city’s annual St. Patty’s day parade.
Yesterday I watched as festivals, concerts and tours were canceled throughout the day.
We hosted Irish singer-songwriter Keith Harkin last night and it was our first “No contact” show. He usually poses for photos with his fans and doesn’t mind being on the receiving end of big warm hugs. For this show, he did a Q&A from the stage for his VIP ticket holders instead.
Venues and artists rely on people showing up and spending money to keep them afloat. The health crisis is already impacting everyone in a big way and the panic in the industry is palpable. This article in Rolling Stone by Nashville artist Caleb Caudle breaks down the financial reality indie musicians are facing right now.
Coronavirus Could Decimate Touring Musicians Livelihoods
So what now?
We all operate on razor-thin margins to begin with and dips in business are always stomach-churning…but this is another whole beast.
Is it irresponsible to continue to stay open and host shows? Should we keep buying inventory? What about our staff that depends on the income they make working for us and the artists who make their living playing on our stage?
I’ve been wrestling with all of this for the last 24 hours.
We are planning to follow the lead of our colleagues at other small music venues. The shows will continue. We are encouraging our staff to get plenty of rest, stay hydrated and stay home if they have a hint of any symptoms. We are disinfecting all surfaces at the bar on a regular basis. We suggest that everyone skip the hugs and handshakes.
That’s the best we can do at the moment.
See you soon,
