Research by Buma/Stemra and Sena shows that music professionals are losing 80% of their income due to the corona crisis.
The music industry is going through very hard times. Times that will not change. Support measures of the cabinet such as the TOZO and the TOGS are often not sufficient, according to recent research carried out by Ipsos, commissioned by Buma/Stemra and Sena. The call for support for the affected music professionals, consisting of artists, musicians, composers, authors, publishers and producers, is therefore great.
The research that Buma/Stemra and Sena conducted among their own people came about in cooperation with NVPI (the branch association of the entertainment industry) and research bureau Ipsos. The results show a grim picture of the current situation. For example, the interviewees indicate that they are losing almost 80% of their income this summer. The vast majority of this (80%) is fulltime freelancer.
Half of two-income earners in the cultural sector do not make ends meet
This large gap in income must be filled as much as possible with reimbursements from the TOZO and the TOGS. Four out of ten respondents indicate to have applied for the TOZO, for the TOGS this is one out of ten. It is striking, however, that one third indicates that they are not entitled to these schemes. The main reasons for this are that they have an income just above the social minimum, that they do not meet the criteria or that someone works from home. Two-income earners who both work in the cultural sector have an extra hard time. The TOZO may only be paid to one person. Almost half of these people say that living together until 1 July is already very difficult.
Too little attention for the music industry
As a result, the vast majority of those questioned are dissatisfied with the current government’s policy. Half of those questioned do not agree with the government’s current support measures. In addition, three quarters feel that there is too little attention for the music industry in terms of support. As many as seven out of ten indicate that, in addition to the government’s support measures, other forms of support should quickly be introduced. Buma/Stemra and Sena support the calls from both makers’ and industry representatives for better connection and opening up of the generic government measures, or tailor-made solutions for the music sector.
Understanding of the measures
Music professionals do understand the Cabinet’s current precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Only a quarter of those questioned indicated that the current measures should be relaxed much sooner.
Emergency Music Fund
According to Buma/Stemra and Sena, the research confirms the urgency of the Emergency Music Fund launched last week. This emergency fund is an initiative of Sena and Buma/Stemra, with a contribution from Spotify, which also doubles all private donations from the COVID-19 Music Relief Fund. Sena and Buma/Stemra hope to be able to announce the possibilities for music professionals to apply for support in the course of the coming weeks, partly on the basis of research and discussions with third parties.