COVID-19: It’s time for musicians to do what they do best

So far, COVID-19 has claimed almost 55 000 lives worldwide. All major music and entertainment events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. More countries are imposing travel restrictions and lockdowns. People are being told not to leave their homes or to gather in groups.

The question is, what are we going to do about it? This is where we need to focus our individual and collective creative energy as inhabitants of this planet; this is a worldwide crisis that affects every sector, and more specifically the music industry.

We need a new conversation that shifts from "this is the end of the music sector in Africa" to "this is the beginning of a new, more united and stronger music sector." Let’s work together not only to overcome this crisis but to come out of it more unified and stronger than before. Let’s use the technology at our fingertips to stay in touch and lift each other up for as long as the pandemic lasts. Let’s collaborate more with others in our communities and beyond our borders. Let's follow the example of the Italians and others who are singing from their windows and broadcasting solo concerts from their homes. They are beacons of the human spirit shining a light in the face of darkness.

The fact is that many people in the music industry are not too far from where they were before the crisis hit. It’s just more noticeable now. It is sometimes said that there’s opportunity in crisis, and independent African music stakeholders can now start a crucial conversation about the future of the music industry on the continent

Some may ask, why now? The real question is, why not now? After all, when was the last time so many musicians had this much time on their hands? The whole sector is stuck and complaining about it will not solve the problem. But preparing strategies for the next crisis while dealing with the current one might be the best thing to do with our time off.

Collaboration and using the power of music to inspire the world should be foremost on our minds. This is where trade events like ACCES, Visa For Music, Atlantic Music Expo, DOADOA and IOMMA, among others, come in. It's in difficult times like these that we should appreciate the value of powerful networks like Music In Africa to bring us together. Let's use this resource to its fullest potential.

Nobody knows how long this crisis will last. In the meantime, I’m calling on all musicians to do what artists do best: create. Without creation, there is no music. Without music, there is no life. Let's keep hope alive. Let's put our heads together and come up with new ways to collaborate and inspire ourselves and others. My team is working on new ideas and you should too. It’s time to sing.

Mac Traore is the founder of the African Music Promotion Society and CEO of konexion USA.