With streaming down and the collapse of live shows, it’s been a difficult year for artists – but music has still offered solace
The initial impact of Covid-19 on the music industry was an unexpected one. Surely, with everyone confined to their homes, streaming figures would go through the roof, not least because it soon transpired that singing opera on your small Italian balcony is only so amusing for so long. Yet, in April, a good six weeks into global lockdown orders, it was reported that Spotify streams of the world’s biggest hits were actually down 11%.
See, it wasn’t just concert halls that had been shuttered, it was the bars and venues that would normally be playing recorded music; plus there was a lack of bored commuters standing glumly on trains listening to a playlist titled My Boss Is a Jerk.