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Coronavirus has us all unemployed.
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Covid 19 has us artists up in a frenzy. Ninety percent of my entire income came form live gigs and now, suddenly... it's blown out like a candle.
The first two months of lockdown, I decided not to work because I figured it would blow over soon. I felt good. I felt energized! And I was ready to get back to gigging. But I soon realized things would not go back to normal anytime soon. So I chose to search for a job.
Some musicians didn't wait a week to search for other income. While others still choose not to work a regular job. Whatever their choice is, I respect and applaud their decision.
If you know a musician who refuses to work, please don't bad-mouth this person. Please understand, most of these musicians have only known music their entire life and have never worked a normal full-time job.
Because I have previously worked a full-time job prior to being a musician, I can (luckily) understand and go back to working a full-time job.
As a musician/artist, we pay our taxes, have no paid vacation and also have to pay our insurances. So, what the government has paid for musicians/artists is a joke. Now, I'm working twice as much for half the money I used to earn gigging.
It's very difficult for me at the moment not only because I have to work a full-time job, but also because I'm not allowed to do live gigs. A very big part of my life has been torn away from me... and it hurts. If I think about it too much, I know I would just break down and cry. Therefore, I try not to think about it. I do what I have to do and keep it pushing until something changes.
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I also applaud anyone working a full-time job over years at a time. Especially if your job is very physical. This can be very detrimental because of the "wear and tear" of the body. Please, stay healthy.
I was always happy for full-time employees when Friday came because "It's the weekend!!" And I was extra happy because I knew people had off and I could also work. But since I've been working a full-time job, I've realized how short the weekend really is. Friday after work, I'm tired. Saturday, I'm relaxing... or maybe trying to catch up on some things like cleaning, buying things, meeting family/friends and so on. Sunday comes and I'm getting ready for Monday again. WOW! Where did my weekend go?
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I'm not asking anyone to feel sorry for me or any other musicians/artists whose lost their income to covid. We are artists and, like many other jobs, our job comes with risks. But no one calculated a pandemic. And as I said before, we pay our taxes, have no paid vacation, no sick leave and we also have to pay our health insurance and any other extra life insurances out of our own pocket. So, what the government has paid for musicians/artists is a joke!
I am asking for your understanding and if you see a musician who decides not to work, please try to put yourself in that persons shoes and then judge.
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Thank you for taking time to read this. Stay blessed and hopefully live music can return soon.
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-SouL Elements
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