COVID-19 Assistance Resources for Musicians

These times are troublesome for all of us, particularly creatives. Below is a list of programs for musicians to seek help and for fans to support them during the remainder of the pandemic.

Written by C.S. Harper, Micaela Garza, and Felix Kalvesmaki

Illustrated by Alyssa Sheldon

 
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The pandemic has affected musicians in countless ways, from pushing back album release dates to cancelling tours. While COVID-19 vaccines are starting to become more readily available, the effects of the recession will be long-lasting; many creatives are still struggling to recover from losses in gigs and sales. Here’s a list of resources for musicians to seek financial and housing assistance, healthcare and mental health services, and music-related support.

 

Resources for Financial Assistance

Artist Relief: Offers $5,000 in grants to artists (including musicians) with “financial emergencies due to COVID-19.” Applications are now open until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 30, 2021.

Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund: Emergency assistance fund created by the Arts Administrators of Color Network (AACN). Offers one-time micro-grants of $200 to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) creatives and arts administrators who were financially affected by COVID-19.

Austin Creative Alliance Artists Emergency Relief Fund: Provides up to $500 to musicians who have “lost income due to the cancellation of a specific, scheduled gig or opportunity.” Priority is given to members of the Austin Creative Alliance and applicants with food or housing insecurity.

DAWA Fund: Emergency assistance fund created by Austin-based artist Chaka Mahone of Riders Against the Storm. Applications for Round 2 are closed, but the application will reopen for the upcoming Round 3 of funding.

Fueling Musicians Program: Joe Bonamassa’s Fueling Musicians program assists touring musicians affected by COVID-19 by giving applicants an immediate payment for $1,500 for food, shelter, and more. Applicants must be based in the United States and have been touring since January 2019.

International Bluegrass Association (IBA) Trust Fund: Puts forward grants of up to $750 for professional bluegrass musicians, managers, and other workers in the genre. This fund is available internationally, and membership to the IBA is not required for application.

Live Nation Crew Nation Relief Fund: Supports live music crews and roadies who have lost profits due to tour cancellations. Applications are currently closed but may reopen at a later date.

Music Health Alliance COVID-19 Relief Grant: Provides COVID-19 relief grants to musicians, as well as resources for employment and healthcare. Provides funds for food, formula, diapers, medication, health insurance monthly premiums, COVID-19 testing, and doctor’s visits. Musicians can only apply if they cannot cover their own expenses for the next two months.

Musicians Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund: Offers grants of $200 to anyone in the United States. Applicants must have five years of experience as a professional musician, file taxes as a musician, and have “professional musician materials” like a website, alongside proof of work cancellation.

Pinetop Assistance League: Provides financial and other forms of support (including transportation and temporary home services) to musicians who are 50 years and older with a preference for blues artists.

 

Resources for Healthcare, Housing, and Living Expenses

The HART Fund: Provides free health screenings and funding for the health-related financial needs (including “acute, chronic, and preventive medical and dental care as well as funeral and burial expenses”) of blues musicians and their families.

Health Alliance for Austin Musicians: Provides access to affordable healthcare, as well as food and prescription medication assistance, to low-income musicians in Austin.

HOME Austin Emergency Housing Grant: Provides emergency housing grants of up to $500 for musicians aged 55 and older who have been working for at least 20 years. Must be within 50 miles of Austin or Travis County.

Jazz Foundation of America COVID Fund: International fund that seeks to provide jazz musicians in crisis with funds for food, housing, and more.

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund: Offers assistance with living and medical expenses to musicians who have had income losses due to sickness or loss of work.

 

Music Funding and Support

Austin Music Foundation: Provides educational and mentorship programs for Austin-based musicians.

Black Fret: Offers grants and mentorship to “exceptional musicians” in Austin. According to the site, “these musicians typically play regularly in local live music venues and are covered by local press, including the Austin Chronicle.”

Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective: Organization meant to empower Black transgender women and nonbinary femmes in music and the arts. Its programs provide networking, grassroots action, and fiscal sponsorship.

Die Jim Crow: Record label that publishes work by currently and formerly incarcerated musicians. This support is important, as one in five prisoners in America has contracted COVID-19.

MusicMaker Relief Foundation: Seeks to preserve Southern traditions in music (such as blues, gospel, and Indigenous music) by supporting Southern musicians through educational and performance programs, as well as financial assistance.

 

Mental Health Support

BYOD: Build Your Own Dreams is a record label that funds therapy for musicians. Currently, the label is raising $12,000 to give 10 creatives access to mental healthcare.

Light Hope Life: Focuses on suicide prevention and providing mental health teletherapy to the touring community. Touring professionals (crew members, as well as musicians) who have been impacted by COVID-19 are eligible to apply for two free teletherapy sessions.

Music Industry Therapists and Coaches (MITC): Collective of therapists who have a background in music and specialize in issues like career transitions and stress. Therapy sessions are not free of charge, but MITC also offers free mental health resources and guides.

Recording Academy MUSICARES: Offers short-term financial assistance for living expenses, counseling, emergencies, and addiction recovery. Applicants must have a minimum of five years experience in the recording industry and six commercially released recordings or videos.

SIMS Foundation: Provides mental health and substance-use disorder recovery resources for musicians. Services include counseling and medical programs, and includes those who have “earned some degree of income through the music industry in the past 12 months.” Must live in Travis, Bastrop, Williamson, Burnet, Blanco, Hays, or Caldwell County.

 

Other Resources

American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Emergency Relief Fund: Provides financial assistance to AFM members who are in good standing and have been affected by major natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfires. Applicants must have resided or been employed as a musician in an impacted county as designated on this list.

American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Hurricane Relief Fund: Provides financial assistance to AFM members who are in good standing and were employed as a musician or resided in an American county or Canadian province impacted by hurricanes.

Gospel Music Trust Fund: Provides emergency financial assistance to musicians or children of musicians who have been working full-time in the gospel or Christian genre for at least 10 years.

Joe Bonamassa @ ACL Live Performance: Pay-per-view concert of two-time Grammy nominee Joe Bonamassa for ACL Live that fans can watch to support musicians in need. Proceeds will go towards Keeping Blues Alive’s Fueling Musicians Program.

Lester Petrillo Memorial Fund for Disabled Musicians: AFM fund for members in good standing who are disabled or ill and unable to work. Members who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have tested positive with COVID-19 and are required to quarantine may also apply.

 
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