AccorHotels Arena in Paris on June 18-19 hosted the first big crowd concert in France since the country went on lockdown in March, welcoming 1,000 and 2,000 guests, respectively, Pollstar reports. Tickets for the TV production, recorded at the arena as part of the annual Fête de la Musique celebrations, were free, and the lineup was mostly French artists - Patrick Bruel, Catherine Ringer, Christine and the Queens, Crystal Murray... To ensure physical distancing, people were only allowed to come in groups of two and inside the arena, there was at least one empty set in-between the paired guests, which was easy since it is a 20,000 capacity venue. Wearing a mask was mandatory inside the building, and hand sanitisers were placed at strategic locations.

No longer slave to the hustle and bustle of racing to airports, intermittent sleep, adrenalin-driven late nights, criminally early mornings and forced time away from loved ones for weeks if not months, some musician are finding time a commodity that is rich in discovery - The Star wrote about life in lockdown for some artists (the ones who can afford it, probably). “I’ve been in one place longer than I have since 1989. The pace and the motion of my life has downshifted and … it’s nice!” - Barenaked Ladies co-founder Ed Robertson said.

UK music venues need an immediate cash injection of £50 million from the government to prevent a wave of permanent venue closures across the summer, Music Venue Trust has warned. MVT has launched its #saveourvenues campaign in April, raising £2 million which saved 140 cultural spaces so far, but the Trust warns that the government must provide the injection to prevent lasting damage to the live sector, Music Week reports. Trade body UK Music predicts that the coronavirus shutdown will destroy a staggering £900 million of the estimated £1.1 billion that the UK’s live industry contributes to the economy each year.

Dave Grohl, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Mavis Staples, Willie Nelson, Coldplay, André 3000, Trent Reznor, St. Vincent, Kamasi Washington, Leon Bridges, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Brittany Howard, Bon Iver, Mitski, Leon Bridges, Vampire Weekend, David Byrne, Aaron Nevill are among 600 musicians and comedians who have signed an open letter to US Congress asking federal assistance to independent music venues and promoters across the United States, according to Billboard. The letter urges Congress to “remember we are the nation that gave the world jazz, country, rock & roll, bluegrass, hip hop, metal, blues, and R&B”, adding that “entertainment is America’s largest economic export, with songs written and produced by American artists sung in every place on the globe”. The signees emphasize that if the shutdown lasts six months and there’s no federal assistance, 90% of independent venues will never reopen again.

About 2,000 live music venues and promoters from the USA have banded together to form the National Independent Venues Association, and for more than two months the association has been lobbying Capitol Hill for another round of COVID-19 financial relief, Pitchfork reports. Measures advocated by the group include tax credits, continued unemployment insurance benefits, and payroll assistance. Music-lovers and musicians support the initiative - more than 500,000 emails have been sent through the Save Our Stages website, and more than 600 artists - including Lady Gaga, André 3000, Kacey Musgraves, Bon Iver, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Alabama Shakes, and Patti Smith - have publicly championed NIVA’s plea for federal rescue under the #SaveOurStages hashtag. According to a recent survey, almost 90 percent of independent venues will have to close permanently within months if they can’t secure federal funding.

The independent music ecosystem has historically provided an alternative to corporate labels, broadcasting networks and other consolidated organs of power - InsideHook argues in favour of indie music scene in times of no shows. But the future is not dark - while small bands and labels might currently run on the thinnest of margins, it’s possible that it is precisely this thriftiness that will benefit them in the long term.

U.S. residents have listened to an average of 11.1% more country since mid-March, and country music streaming climbed 22.4% in the final full week of May. Bloomberg explains: some have argued it is comfort food at a time when people are craving any form of succor; an executive at Pandora, the online radio service, noted country music is a perfect complement to drinking (alcohol sales have soared during the pandemic); country fans are learning to stream.

New York City's Metropolitan Opera has canceled all fall performances due to the lockdown, because "Social distancing and the grand opera just don't go together", as Met's General Manager Peter Gelb said. "Our doctors, our medical advisors agree that as long as social distancing is required, we cannot put on performances here" - he added. The Met is currently hoping to re-open its doors on December 31, 2020.

"I feel sorry for emerging bands who would have been promoting debut records this summer. They’ll be hit the hardest" - Foals said after they had to drop their whole tour - "But because we’re more established, we’ve been able to take a year off touring". Still, it hurts -"festivals account for approximately 80% of our income... We’ve been selling fans Foals T-shirts to support the crew. We’ve actually sold 3,000, which helped tide them over for a few months". Chelsea Wolfe described her experience - "canceling the tour was huge. I’d already invested so much money into booking the tour bus, renting the gear, paying for my crew, the flights, a week of their time for rehearsals, the stage dressings. None of that stuff is refundable. I’ve been able to sell some tour merch, which helps. It’s been cool to see fans wanting to support artists. Lots have left comments online saying: 'I was meant to see you play live, but I bought a T-shirt instead'".

Lockdown has made musicians and labels creative in coming up with ways to reach their audience, Vice reports on changes in the music industry. Artists are setting up livestreams and Zoom-based music lessons, labels are waiving their own share of revenue on commission-free days. Coronavirus is also forcing labels to think outside the box, whether that means snapping socially distant press photos or pivoting music videos ideas to living-room productions. Not everything is great - without the option of meeting musicians in person and seeing them play live, many labels are pressing pause on talent discovery and focusing on their current rosters. On the other hand, labels are thinking that when touring comes back, it'll give their albums a second burst of interest...