A number of top music photographers have united to raise money selling their prints of well known artists, to raise money for the live crews that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The renowned photographers include Rankin, Tony McGee and Jill Furmanovsky, who have dedicated 100% of the proceeds to the UK charity Stagehand, who are helping live music crews through tough times.
Prints of the iconic artists being sold include Stormzy, David Bowie, Liam Gallagher, Bob Marley, Arctic Monkeys, The Streets, Tina Turner, Fatboy Slim, Alice Cooper, Sting and many more. Photographer Ed Robinson who organised the funding for ‘Prints For Music,’ hopes to raise over 100k in support of the live music sector.
In an Interview with Music Week Robinson said, “Like so many others, the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected me deeply on a personal level as well as professionally. I have reached out to the people I know in the music and photographic industries with the simple idea to try to help those who are not getting the support they need to survive this crisis.”
He added, “For many photographers who have been privileged enough to have been given access to photograph these artists, it has only been made possible by the efforts of their production teams. None of these photographs would have been possible without the artists and those who support them. This initiative is our way of giving back in their time of need. It will help preserve their livelihoods and enable the shows to go on in the future.”
The funds that are raised will be offered as grants to out-of-work production and technician stuff in the live music sector. The impact of the coronavirus has left thousands of musicians and industry workers without jobs and struggling. Thousands of gigs, live music venues, concert halls and festivals have had to cancel or reschedule events throughout this year and the next. The UK is the second biggest music industry globally (after the US) and in 2020, Oxford economics reported that music jobs will amount to 77,000, which is a 60% drop compared with 2018.
The report noted that the, “economy would drop by $3bn, with the collapse in live music and touring being the single biggest factor contributing to the decline.” It also stated that live music would be effectively “decimated across the whole of 2020” and that the recovery would take at least three to four years to return to where it was in 2019.
Until the government makes decisions on when live music will be able to return, charities such as ‘Stagehand’ play a big part in helping musicians keep up their hopes of returning to their livelihood. Music Week stated that chair of Stagehands board of trustee’s, Mike Lowe said, “The livelihoods of people working in live music productions has been decimated by the effects of Covid-19. Every day we hear from people who are struggling and Stagehand is raising funds to help those in most need, with the simple aim of helping to keep roofs over heads and food on tables.”
Priced at £95, prints can be purchased from the ‘Prints For Music’ website up until 11th December.
