Live Blog/ Corona Virus (COVID-19) news for the Arts & Culture sector
Tips To Help Freelancers / Artists Online
Our daily lives are affected by the coronavirus. Most of us are being requested by our governments to #stayathome, please do honor this request. By staying at home you can save lives. Respect social distancing as much as possible, the idea behind social distancing is to limit the amount of people infected by the corona virus. At the same time try to boost your immune system with healthy, fresh – most preferably vegetarian- food. And to remain calm, listen to meaningful music! 😉
DesiYUP is concerned about the Arts & Culture sector i.e. the financial situation of freelancers and independent musicians. In most countries it’s by law not allowed anymore to gather in large group activities i.e. concert halls, bars or clubs. In fact some countries have announced a total lock down to make sure that the virus stops spreading. The immediate outcome of these regulations are that a majority of artists and and freelancers active in the Arts & Culture sector face immediate financial losses.
In some countries governments are supportive and will be compensating the losses of people who are self-employed and small and medium- sized businesses. The Netherlands has a plan in place to help people who are active in the Arts & Culture sector. Which is great, but not every country has such a plan in place for freelancers or independent musicians. Therefore I making a few suggestions that will be of help to increase or give an income to self-employed i.e. independent musicians and freelancers in the Arts & Culture sector.
Subscribe: many artists have a YouTube channel. Share your Youtube link on social media and actively request your family and friends to subscribe and watch video content. By doing this monetized channels can increase their income or musicians can start earning some money with their YouTube content. You need a minimum of 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours to get your channel monetized. Subscribe to the DesiYUP YouTube channel.
Playlist: make playlists on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes etc with your favorite independent musicians and share this playlist with your friends and family in WhatsApp groups or on social media. Playlists increase views and generate more traffic to artists social media pages or website. And at the same time you are introducing family & friends – who are also #stayingathome – with brand new music. DesIYUP also made a #StayAtHome playlist with inspiring music!
Order: the most effective way to help independent musicians is to buy music albums online on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon. Share your purchase on social media and encourage your family & friends to do the same! An average album costs €10. Support your local talent to sustain!!!
Streaming: live streaming! We don’t have access anymore to fancy theaters with great acoustics, but we can still enjoy live music. There are many artists who are now hosting live streaming sessions online. You can donate money to these musicians by participating in these live streaming gigs. Musicians who are planning a live streaming share these details with us! We love to share this information with our followers.
Any tips to improve this blog? Just email me: info@desiyup.com
Stay healthy and be safe!
Warm wishes, 🙏
Mahesvari – Founder DesiYUP
Earn money with livestream video’s
Our society is being challenged by the corona virus. Theaters are closing down, having a drink in a café or enjoying a meal in a restaurant with friends is nowadays a felony and people are finding it very hard to sit at home and accept social distancing. In this difficult situation music an dance can help to uplift the spirit of young and old. We all saw video’s going viral of quarantined Italians singing and making music from their balconies. This is clearly a good example that even though we have enough food on the table, a roof above our head, our mind is longing for expression of creativity. Yess, you can read a book or binge watch Netflix series, but currently we are missing human interaction. My personal opinion is and always will be that meaningful music is healing. The best medicine for our well-being.
Musicians who are reading this blog, please see if you can organize livestream concerts from home. Here are a few ways to earn money with livestreams.
YouTube: if you have a monetized YouTube account you can livestream from YouTube. This will work if you have original content, because the last thing that you want is share your revenue with a commercial record label. You can also earn money with livestreams on Facebook, but you need a high viewing rate to make a substantial amount of money with it.
Digital donation: for a livestream you can ask for an in-video donation from your fans through embedded live video on an online event page or your website. During corona times musicians can still connect with their fans. You can announce this concert by stating that you will sing for 30 minutes or even give a full fledged concert of 90 mins. Whatever works for you and your audience! This website can help you with embedding a digital payment platform. Here are 7 online tools that you can use for digital donations.
Online payment apps: if a digital donation or earning money with your social media platforms seems too complicated you can always request people for a direct payment on your bank account using smart apps. These apps are widely popular and most of these apps are free of charge. In the Netherlands Tikkie is a popular app used for online payments.
Well I hope that with these tips musicians can start making some meaningful live-streaming video’s! Tip us if you are planning an online live streaming event and we will share your content with our followers.
Flatten the Curve – social distancing will save lives.
Temporary bridging measure for self-employed professionals (Tozo) living in The Netherlands
Self-employed professionals living in The Netherlands can apply for a temporary income support from the Dutch government, if you have been experiencing financial difficulties from 1 March 2020 due to the corona crisis. This Income support, depends on your income and your household situation. The maximum amount that you can receive is €1,500 (net). You do not have to repay this amount, and there is no capital or partner check. You apply for this income support (Tozo) at the municipality where you are registered as a citizen. Check the follow are the requirements:
- you are an established self-employed professional, ages between 18 and retirement age
- you live and reside in the Netherlands legitimately
- your nationality is Dutch or equalled
- you practice your business or profession in the Netherlands
- you meet the legal requirements for being a business owner, for instance you are registered at the Chamber of Commerce (kvK Handelsregister)
- you started your company before 17 March 2020, 18. 45 hours and you meet the hours criterion (a minimum of 1,225 hours per year are put into your company or professional activities) i.e. average work week of 23,5 hours.
- you live in the municipality where you apply
Have these documents to apply for this income support:
- Login DigiD and your password
- Chamber of Commerce registration number (Kvk-nr)
- Copy bank statement
- Revenue numbers
Take these steps when you apply for income support:
- Go to the website of your municipality
- Login with your DigiD
- Fill in the income form
- Fill in your Chamber of Commerce number (Kvk-nr)
- Double check the data that you filled in
- Upload a recent bank statement document
- Confirm that you need this income support
