This trilogy is about the live music business and corona. In part I you can read about 6 reasons why people in the live music business have been hit extra hard by all corona measurements. Part II was about how to get through the crisis. Part III will be about how to prepare for after-lock-down. Here again I make a difference between business in general, your own finances, and your mental condition.
Business will be different than we are used to, for quite a while. The essence of live music is to bring people together, to commonly join a show, to experience being with a whole bunch of people in the same flow, dancing and jumping in the same rhythm. 2 years ago, IQ Magazine concluded in an article about research of the importance of live music, that live music is better than sex. Though, similar to sex, with social distancing it will never be the same!
We do know that concerts and the business will be different for quite a while, same for your finances. Though we don’t know how. We can’t really change the global situation regarding the live music business. We can’t know when concerts will be possible, where, or how. What we can change, is how we react to it.
Part II was about survival. When preparing for the after-lock-down, survival is not enough. You want to be healthy, strong and flexible, in mind and body. Only that way you can adapt to the new situation, however it might look like.
I assume that you already know how important exercises and healthy food is for a strong, healthy and flexible body. Don’t be too harsh to yourself if it is not working out as great as you would like it to be, in the current situation. Try you best, day after day. Saying that, we touched already the mental aspect of the crisis.
The current situation with all it’s uncertainties regarding work and finances in the live music business has evoked a lot of stress and anxiety. Music Industry Therapists has put out a great guide with instructions on how to reduce anxiety. Meditation helps you to accept the situation as it is, the part that you can not change anyway. Getting grip on your anxiety leads to a healthy mental condition. That’s the first stage.
Once you have managed to get grip on your anxiety, the current lock-down is a great opportunity to clean up. It’s for various reasons great to do. An uncluttered home/office helps you to focus on new stuff. Cleaning up gives you a goal, some structure in these unstructured times. And it just feels great if you have grip on it all. Cleaning up and uncluttering leads to a strong mental base. That’s the second stage.
Only after you have worked on the first two stages, you will be ready for the third stage, a flexible mind. For flexibility it is good to explore new territories, new ideas. You can start with where you are right now by putting on paper a map of all the contacts you have. There are probably much more people than you thought it would be! Especially people outside of your close circle of friends can offer new perspectives and ideas.
Part of developing new ideas can be to write new songs, to develop new collaborations, to look into other forms of art. Working with other forms of art can help you to keep creativity flowing when you feel blocked, like Questlove so passionate describes in his book “Creative Quest”.
The lock-down also gives you time to investigate your core values. What is really important to you? What core value is neglected by others, when you get mad at them? Core values help you to make decisions about the direction you want to go. They also make you unique and authentic. You can use it when exploring new ideas and also when heading back to normal.
Use this strange time to strengthen and broaden your mental state for after-lock-down!