The music industry has taken a hit over the past nine months as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced concert venues to shut their doors and musicians to put touring on hold. For some Northeast Ohio artists, the mandated lockdown has given them an opportunity to get creative and write new material at home or turn to online platforms to distribute their music and gain new fans.
For others, the halt on traditional means of promoting and selling albums has left them feeling uncertain about the future. Trying to stay creative as an artist during a global pandemic has been challenging, too.
Some Northeast Ohio musicians are embracing the widespread shift to online content and virtual events, while others say there are limitations and frustrations involved with streaming services and social media.
Finishing an album and losing the ability to perform it live
Akron-based garage rock band spent last winter working on its debut, full-length album. News of the pandemic broke right around the time the band was set to release it.
Blending their love of 1960s rock 鈥榥鈥� roll, members Aaron Stefanko, Wes Dodd and Quinn Starkey joined together after each had spent years playing in bands like The Strange Division, Real Dogs, Fighting Words and Millstone.
Starkey joined the band on bass after Dodd and Stefanko had been performing together as a two-piece and put out an EP in 2017.
"There鈥檚 no real motivation without the live-music setting and the community that comes with that."Quinn Starkey
White Lighter has since played shows in the Akron area and had enough original material to put out a new record this year. White Lighter鈥檚 first as a trio came out in April 2020. The band used an old Tascam analog recording studio in its rehearsal space. Stefanko engineered the recording, and the group worked with at to master it.
鈥淲e did it all ourselves, and we worked really hard on it. We got the news of the first lockdown the day that we received our first masters back,鈥� Starkey said.
The band was going to sell physical copies of the album and merch at a planned release show, but the pandemic forced the group to cancel the event. The band eventually hosted a livestream album release event on Instagram but was only able to offer digital copies of the album on Bandcamp.
White Lighter has not played any in-person shows in 2020 after COVID-19 first hit Ohio. Starkey said aside from performing being put on hold, he鈥檚 felt a lull creatively as well.
鈥淲ith the way things are now, there鈥檚 no real motivation without the live-music setting and the community that comes with that. I鈥檓 not fully myself without that,鈥� he said.
Starkey said White Lighter is working on some new material, and he鈥檚 trying to stay motivated as coronavirus cases surge throughout the state.
鈥淚鈥檝e spent some time to kind of build myself a little home studio, but it鈥檚 not the same,鈥� he said.
Using the time at home to build an online presence as an artist
, a multi-genre singer and songwriter from Cleveland, has shifted her focus from gaining exposure through live performances to building a stronger online presence as an artist.
鈥淭he year hurt a lot of what the creative and music landscape was, so it鈥檚 kind of evolved and changed at this point because it鈥檚 happening so long. We鈥檝e adapted,鈥� Aevum said.
Her blend of pop, soul, R&B and ambient sounds have translated well into dreamy, sensual accompanying music videos that have gained traction on social media.
Aevum鈥檚 career in music began at a young age. She grew up with a DJ father who had equipment and a large music collection at home.
鈥淚 pulled down his microphone one day and just 鈥榖aby mumbled鈥� into it. My eyes lit up, and I couldn鈥檛 leave it alone. I even have voice recordings of me from as early as 2 years old,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he amount of money I get from my subscribers a month is more than my entire payment that I鈥檝e gotten for all my streams, amongst all the stores, for the year."Mina Aevum
Aevum said growing up in Cleveland has shaped her alternative, experimental sound as an artist. Punk shows at Now That鈥檚 Class opened her eyes to a new world of music and creativity.
鈥淭hey showed me a lot of sounds that I definitely think influenced by sound today. I can鈥檛 say that Cleveland hasn鈥檛 shaped me to be what I am,鈥� she said.
Aevum said this year she鈥檚 figured out how to be a 鈥渃onstant creator鈥� in the same vein as people who have gained fame and a following through YouTube or TikTok.
She has gained new fans outside of Northeast Ohio by utilizing her online platforms and expanding her content.
鈥淚 took a bunch of footage that I had鈥攖hat was supposed to be music videos鈥攖hat I couldn鈥檛 get anyone to edit for me because I didn鈥檛 have the budget, and I edited them myself,鈥� Aevum said.
Aevum said she used these videos as an 鈥渆xclusive offer鈥� for people to join . She鈥檚 utilized this pledge and fundraising platform to offer voice memos and exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage that she hasn鈥檛 posted on any other online platforms.
鈥淭he amount of money I get from my subscribers a month is more than my entire payment that I鈥檝e gotten for all my streams, amongst all the stores, for the year,鈥� she said.
Aevum said she has used this time at home to finish an album she鈥檚 been working on for the last three years. She plans to release the album in 2021 and send her Patreon supporters the album ahead of time. She鈥檚 been slowly rolling out new material from the album, like the track 鈥�,鈥� on Bandcamp and Spotify.
Aevum said she鈥檚 found an upside to the world slowing down during the pandemic.
鈥淚 can be successful and do other things that I may not have had time to do or think about when I was working so much,鈥� she said.
She was working two jobs and lost one of them. She said all the things that disrupted her survival made it difficult to focus on finishing the album.
鈥淚t definitely allowed me to figure things out and find more healthy ways to schedule my career things, versus my work things, and find that work-life balance,鈥� she said.
She said touring is her 鈥渉appy place,鈥� but social media has helped her build connections with people, get creative, update fans, and build her audience during the pandemic.
鈥淚鈥檓 already kind of a recluse, but I know my strength is speaking with people. It鈥檚 been really good to be able to still have that same impact from home, which I think has only been possible because people are home. They aren鈥檛 out on the weekends. They aren鈥檛 on their phones as much if they鈥檙e out at a show,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e should forgive ourselves and give ourselves some room to say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 need to be doing a million things this year."ZOD1AC
Facing setbacks with streaming virtual concerts
For Akron producer Valerie Murray, who produces beats as , making the switch from performing in person to livestreaming has posed a new set of challenges.
As many artists began hosting live events on platforms like Facebook and Twitch early this spring, the social platforms have become increasingly 鈥渉ostile鈥� to musicians.
These online streaming platforms will if it is algorithmically deemed a copyright violation.
鈥淏y default, artists鈥� music is getting automatically flagged as violating a copyright,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淎nd even if you are the rights holder, you鈥檙e still going to be automatically flagged by the system, and it will mute it. So now I鈥檓 trying to find other ways to do online marketing for music.鈥�
Murray said automated systems do very little to help independent artists stream their own music to fans online because they run on a 鈥渇lag first, ask forgiveness later鈥� model.
Musicians signed to major labels do not seem to run into the issue of social media platforms muting their music as often, she said.
It鈥檚 an 鈥渦phill battle鈥� for smaller and emerging artists to host virtual concerts, so the next logical step has been to just release new, recorded material to keep the music going.
But, Murray said, the low royalty payout rate for artists releasing music through digital platforms like Spotify has made it difficult for musicians to make a substantial, consistent income off of streaming services.
鈥淭he pressure on musicians to constantly be releasing things, it鈥檚 not sustainable,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we should forgive ourselves and give ourselves some room to say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 need to be doing a million things this year. I鈥檓 a human in a pandemic.鈥� It鈥檚 really hard.鈥�
Murray shifted gears this year to create a new collective of emcees, beatmakers and jazz instrumentalists.
With all that has happened this year to negatively impact musicians, the brings together artists to join together and collaborate virtually.
Jazz Fiend鈥檚 was released in September. Murray appears on three tracks, and the rest of the compilation spotlights other artists Murray knows from Akron and the online scene.
Murray said each artist sent her a track, some of which she collaborated on, and others were collaborations between other musicians on the release.
鈥淎nd, from there, we just collaborated virtually and made it happen that way. There was no in-person interaction in the making of that entire album,鈥� Murray said.
As ZOD1AC, she also put out a song with Akron emcee this year called 鈥� Murray said the song is a collaboration single that reflected on the weight of the year in certain aspects.
鈥淲ith this track, we wanted to touch on many of the important issues that this year has highlighted,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淎nd Floco was able to tell that story in a very compelling way.鈥�
What the local music scene will look like in a post-COVID world
Murray said the main driver of bringing people out of the house to enjoy live music at a traditional concert will be the experience, after life has been transformed for nearly a year during the pandemic.
鈥淎s there鈥檚 more availability to do things online, the venues that re-emerge after the pandemic are really going to be focusing on what the experience is like,鈥� she said.
Starkey expressed concern about the local music scene. He said he isn鈥檛 sure it鈥檚 going to be the same after this year.
鈥淭his whole experience has traumatized people, as far as gathering and being together. I think after this it may be hard to go back,鈥� Starkey said.
Aevum said she鈥檚 reflected on the year and realized that, to make it as a successful musician during this time, she needs more than just fan support.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking for my team,鈥� Aevum said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this by myself for the longest, and I can鈥檛 do this by myself. So I鈥檝e kind of been scouting 鈥� a publicist, marketing people, trying to find people who care and like my music and want to help me push it.鈥�
Aevum has recently been involved in the Cleveland-based , which spotlights black artists in the city. She has also contributed music to 鈥�,鈥� a Maelstrum collaborative arts immersive experience.
While live concerts were her main method of networking and advancing her music career before the pandemic, focusing on social media and Patreon to build an audience will be her main focus, for now.
