Especially hard times have fallen on the music industry amid the pandemic, which is why the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) has formed.
So far, over 700 musicians have signed the organization’s open letter to congress asking for COVID-19 relief. The letter demands for an extension on unemployment benefits through the end of the year, freezes on rent/mortgage payments, national arts funding, and more.
Starting with the CARES Act, the letter states — We demand an extension of CARES Act unemployment benefits, including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, through at least the remainder of 2020. Live music will be one of the last businesses to reopen, and music workers will need support until that happens.
Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Deafheaven, Julia Holter, Charly Bliss, Jeff Rosenstock and many others have signed in support of the petition. Many genres are also represented including hardcore and punk, folk, hip hop, emo and electronic music with the likes of Steve Hauschildt, STRFKR, and Zola Jesus.
Source: Consequence of Sound
