The Impact of COVID on Music

On this episode of The Rise, join Skrizz and Adam as they talk about how COVID-19 has affected the music industry - from small artists to big artists. Skrizz also shares how he adapts and adjusts to this pandemic and why music artists should also adapt - especially the new ones.

Transcript

Adam   0:02
Talking music, building businesses, and the grit in the journey. We're Skrizz and Adam and welcome to The Rise.

Skrizz  0:17 
And we are back! This is Skrizz and Adam with a new episode of The Rise. I am very excited about this one. Adam, how're you doing?

Adam  0:25
I'm doing well. I don't know why you're that excited about this episode though. It's about a negative topic that we hear about way too much.

Skrizz  0:32 
I agree. This is a this is a horse that has been beaten to death. But I think I'm excited cuz for some strange reason, we haven't talked about this.

Adam  0:41 
I think we've been the only people in the whole world that have avoided this topic. I don't think of me and you personally, as I've ever talked about.

Skrizz  0:48 
On either of our platforms are by no means the biggest platforms have we talked about this, let alone on our podcast. But we're gonna jump in today. If you haven't guessed already. For the rise, we are talking about COVID. We are talking about how has COVID affected our lives, our businesses, everything. Everything it means to be an entrepreneur. So Adam, want to kick it off?

Adam  1:09 
Yeah. So I want to hear from your standpoint, like from a business standpoint is a little bit different. But I mean, everything has changed. Every industry has changed. Everything has been evolved since it since COVID started obviously. But for you. You made such a living of traveling, whether it's for house parties, shout out to the Bar Mitzvah back in the day,

Yep. You know, from things like that, to obviously performing at concerts and shows. But since COVID started, especially in the early days, a lot of that got shut down. And even now, it's a lot tougher to book and they're a lot more reluctant to book. So obviously, a lot has changed with you and how you've run your operation. And I think it'd be interesting to talk about for sure.

Skrizz  1:50 
Great question, the two main fundamental changes, and I think they were very good changes that are literally the spark for something greater happening. Anyone who knows me and like you mentioned, I spent the early years of my career playing house parties for free. Bar shows different types of shows and stuff like that. What kind of just happened, or I feel like both these things happened very organically was that I was playing a house party every weekend, like every weekend, or every other weekend, I was doing it. And it suddenly just became a lot more straightforward that this was a formal business locally, or you would travel I travel the country, I've flown Canada twice. I've done Denver, I've done Iowa, I was being flown out like at least once a month. And I think that was that. It was it was a perfect, a perfect example of the economy doing its thing where it was like they people wanted to see me or people want to see concerts. And again, I did not have this on my website. I did, like nowhere publicly wasn't listed that I played house parties again, nowhere publicly. Was it ever listed that I did house parties. But so people knew.

Adam  3:03 
Yeah, I know, for us, when you know me, my roommates at the time in Boston, had you come for the bar mitzvah that we're throwing, like, we just called you or DM'd you or whatever it was, and then you do it. Is that normally how would be where people would just DM you fans would DM you? And then you would do it or how does it go?

Skrizz  3:19 
It literally happen until a month ago, that was it. And again, like this wasn't like a big like team meeting saying, Hey, we're going to pivot from playing shows to you know, charging $700 for a house party, and focusing it just it just happened to the point what was happening, I'd say like, two out of every three weekends, and it just became a thing and I think the scarcity of it, you know, people was willing to shell out again, I think the price is very low. I think back then it was $600 a show plus all expenses covered you pay for the flight you pay for housing, you I'm not paying for anything.

And that was just that just became the norm and the norm so much so that finally for the first time ever, it's now on my website and there is an email addresses skrizzlyhouse party@gmail.com And a woman just booked me two days ago for Pennsylvania shout out to that woman. I'm playing a birthday party in Nashville in two weeks. So through that email so yeah, we now have like a formal system, and I I don't know if it was me just arriving at that point in my career meets like the scarcity of shows but the two intersect it at the right point where it became became a business and like I never really wanted it to be become a business that

Adam  4:30 
Did that died down though during COVID?

Skrizz  4:32
No, it never stop.

Adam  4:33
So even during COVID People were booking you for house parties.

Skrizz  4:37 
What I'm saying is no it picked up because I'm saying the opposite of what you're saying. Because they think people give a shit in Texas or wherever they don't give a shit. Like no one gives a shit like they they can't see live music at Madison Square Garden. They'll say Skrizzly Adams in my backyard.

Adam  4:50 
So COVID actually. actually worked in my advantage. Exactly interesting. So COVID I thought you were gonna go within a different direction where it picked up for your virtual shows that you're doing But you're saying people because they couldn't see you or see anyone for that matter. It doesn't mean anyone in person they want to bring you in here to do a backyard party with me and 20 of my friends.

Skrizz  5:10 
Exactly. That was exactly what happened. And it's still sustaining to this day have risen the price I will continue to raise the price at a tasteful amount.

Adam  5:19 
Now would you rather do a show like that, you know, backyard 2030 people you get to meet interact have a good time versus doing a traditional show that you would do at a you know, a hotel or a venue or wherever that is,

Skrizz  5:32 
In the perfect world of Skrizzly Adams it goes. Every week, you do a private concert. Every week, you do an acoustic public show. And then three to four months out of the year, you do an actual tour with a band playing stadiums, you know, that would be the perfect formula for me where you get all three. I've always talked about like, I always want to do solo acoustic shows every week, for the rest of my life. And then tour. Does  that make sense?

Adam  6:04 
Yeah. Why? Okay, It's not to do with the money. It's just more No,

Skrizz  6:10 
I mean, it's great for money didn't mean like it's a it's you're working triple jobs. But now I just do it because I enjoy it.

Adam  6:18 
Okay, so COVID helped pick up the house party business, it helped solidify that house party business. Okay, it made you take it more seriously. And it's also made it so that others see more of a need for it because the other way of going and shows does not exist or did not exist anymore for or at least the severe. more scarce. Yeah. Okay. Sure.

Skrizz  6:38 
So that's one and then number two was I started doing zoom concerts. Very simple. I have no idea why no one else does it. But fans email me no fans purchase it on my website. There's actually like, they purchased five songs. 10 Songs 15 Songs. Okay, so I go to skrizzlyadams.com, you purchase the house party? You get an email from me saying, Hey, what are you and do it and we lock in a day? And I say send me a zoom link 30 minutes before and then you ifdon't show up that's on you. And I get a zoom link. I chime in. We do the concert and say goodbye. That's it.

Adam  7:11 
So both are house parties. Just one's an in person, house party. One's a virtual house party.

Skrizz  7:16 
Yes, I was actually explaining that to somebody that majority of the time. It is like a family reunion or a party or it's a get together. Like sometimes there's just two people or whatever. Like it's often a present for the wife or husband. But more often than not, it's like a bunch of people gathered around the couch and their iPod and

Adam  7:32 
iPod?

Skrizz  7:33
iPad.

Adam  7:34
Who else has an iPod anymore? God, you're aging yourself.

Skrizz  7:37 
iPad. So yeah, those are my two businesses. And I think the birth of the house party solidification will create a bigger business. Again, I'm not trying to make a killing off this the whole point is making it cheap on purpose. But I am excited now to say that the Zoom concert has yielded another business that I'm working on, which has a very promising future.

So those always COVID affected me regarding music, like I have my people and I work remotely you know what I mean? And sometimes we meet meet up in person talk about things and if anything, it's it's helped everybody around me kind of hunker down if they haven't hunkered down already and just get stuff done by themselves where I'd say I don't know. I feel like I can be in Canada with my laptop and still get the album done. You know what I mean? So I think he's just kind of fine tuned people's skills to work remotely.

Adam  8:29 
Do you think Have you seen any big shifts in the music industry that you think will never reverse back now?

Skrizz  8:36 
I will say I firmly believe COVID not going away. I truly believe I will be getting PCR tests to go to Canada for the next 10 years. I'm confident in that.

Adam  8:46
But even more just from like.

Skrizz  8:49
So what we're saying what I'm saying is the cons the live concert business being a big question mark will always be a thing. I really believe that. So what are you ever gonna go back to normal?

Adam  9:00 
So do you think the industry is gonna pick up more on what's Grizzly Adams has been doing?

Skrizz  9:06 
I don't think so. I don't think then that that is just not gonna die it's just gonna morph but like if my thing is like 0.01% of the market it'll turn into 5% of the market.

Adam  9:17 
Okay, so you talk to artists all the time from big artists to people that are just getting started? Is there fear then based on what you just said? Is there a fear with the industry that live music will either go away semi or that it's going to be altered where the amount of money the income you are generating the past will never come back again? Is that a fear that others have?

Skrizz  9:39 
I don't want to say anyone fears about the big picture because no one really gives a flying fuck about the industry.

Adam  9:43 
No, I don't mean the industry. I mean like artists, people like you.

Skrizz  9:47 
I don't say people like me, but like, like some artists whose on the person it's affecting is John Smith, who has a hit single on country radio, and he's 24 years old, and he doesn't own anything and he doesn't do anything, and he signed everybody. And that one single was gonna get him playing every single club in the South for a whole year straight. And he was gonna be making $1,000 a night, and now he's not. So he better start doing zoom concerts and private concerts pretty soon. That's all I'm saying. So that's the person that affects.

Adam  10:21 
So it doesn't affect someone who's more has your method of just like putting out quality, quality, quality quality, it's that person who does have that one hit song.

Skrizz  10:31 
And they need to exploit that song by being in person and they're just not. That's the person that affects. That's the person and that person is the winner of 100 people attempting to be that person. And he's still fucked. So it's a very much a losing game right now.

Adam  10:46 
And so does that mean the labels are really fucked to your point then because the labels are the ones that looking.

Skrizz  10:51 
The labels the one, the labels the one winning off the single. The label, and the publisher is the one winning off the single, he like Kanye West. Kanye was back in the equation. He's like, we're all just fucking slaves. Like, we make you all this money and we get to go on and play. You know, if we're lucky, we'll become superstars like me and play arena shows and that's where we make our money. So you got to think of Joseph John Smith on the radio, making his first country single level, you'd never get to a third country single will never happen. And he's again, he's one of 100,000 Trying to get there.

And he's the he's the, you want to give us money you want to you know, throw in our tip jar that tip jars us plan these club shows, or, you know, playing the fox news event or whatever the fuck you know, that's where he's making his money. That's where that's where that's why he's signed to ca a big agency for those two years because they can exploit him being on the radio. But he doesn't have that right now. Because the fuckin you know, it's just not happening

Adam  11:46 
In your bet is that.

Skrizz  11:49 
They have to adapt or they're going to die. This is why I'm starting my other business with BMI like they need to find another way of making money because they're not and if they're willing to work this should be a no brainer if they're not willing to work like the fucking idiots.

Adam  12:03 
Interesting. So that that that makes sense. So the the biggest loser potentially in the industry is that person with a number one hit single that needs the live shows more than anybody else.

Skrizz  12:14 
Exactly. Exactly. That is exactly the biggest person who's signed everything away to make it a number one hit, thinking they can get the residuals off the other stuff that comes with it, and they're not getting the other stuff. That's the biggest loser.

Adam  12:26 
Has any has anything else changed even just from how you put out songs or how you produce songs, how you think about songs, has anything in your songwriting changed from COVID even just your mindset, like have you been in a worse? Like it's all the same shit

Skrizz  12:41
Nah, it's all the same shit.

Adam  12:44
There you go.