Covid-19 and the live music sector. Coping Strategies and Forgotten Professions.

The social and economic consequences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic will only be assessable in the long term. The cultural sector and the live entertainment sector, in particular, suffered a dramatic downturn. Concerts, theatre shows and all other forms of public artistic gatherings were among the first activities to be stopped. This caused, on one hand, the rarefaction of new cultural products and experiences in our lives and, on the other hand, massive losses to art organizations, companies, venues and all workers involved including technicians, logistics and artists. Drawing on documentary and ethnographic research in the music sector, this paper presents and discusses, on one hand, the strategies that have emerged to cope with restrictions and keep on providing cultural goods to the community. On the other hands, it shows the many gaps and problems affecting a largely deregulated, economically polarized and precarious professional sector.