A new project has started in support of the live venues in Japan, who have been losing profits since they have ordered by the Japanese government to close their doors due to the current situation of COVID-19. The front runner of this project, titled MUSIC UNITES AGAINST COVID-19, is rock band toe. They shared, in collaboration with a few live venues, their ideology on the website behind this project, saying it is important to safe the future of the live venues, the place they love to perform at and their only source of income.
On 19 April a website got launched to inform people about the new project and it is here where you can choose to support your favourite venue in Japan to donate your money to. More than 120 venues in Japan have joined this project.
Since the closings of several concert venues, or live houses, as Japanese people call them, it is difficult to continue without revenue. And without income, some of the doors that are now closed will probably not open in the future. This would be a huge blow for the cultural industry in Japan, as far as the music scene is concerned, which is normally quite lively, especially in Tokyo but also elsewhere in Japan. And without knowing if the Japenese government will support these venues (enough) in the near future, it was for some people the reason to step up and do something to help each other and especially the music scene. We have seen a petition being started under the name Save Our Space (abbreviated to SOS), collecting many signatures of people in the music industry and making people aware that it is a harrowing situation for live venues and musicians, but also the future for cultural events. Also musicians try to keep their head above water by going digital to earn some money.
How to start supporting? On the special website of MUSIC UNITES AGAINST COVID-19 you can view the live venues participating in the project. Select a venue that you want to support, go to their website and select the amount of money that you want to donate. There are a few options to select: 500 yen, 1000 yen, 2000 yen, 5000 yen en 10000 yen. After the payment has been completed, you will be able to access a folder with the music of several musical acts who joined the project.
In total, 70 musicians and bands agreed on joining MUSIC UNITES AGAINST COVID-19, including some bands we know all too well in Europe, such as MONO, envy, heaven in her arms, OOIOO, mouse on the keys, Tokyo Jihen, the band apart, NUMBER GIRL among many others, including toe. The songs that you can expect can be an unreleased song, new song demo, or live version of a song from these musicians. It is good to know that the content of the folder with music remains the same, no matter how much you donate to a venue. MUSIC UNITES AGAINST COVID-19 will run for a limited time, you will be able to join this project by donating money until the end of June 2020.
Source: MUSIC UNITES AGAINST COVID-19 via Spincoaster
