March 13th 2020 – “The Day The Music Died” By John Salaway
In the song “American Pie”, Don Mclean sang about the day the music died, referring to the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Vallens and The Big Bopper. Although a lot of music died on that sad day, the real day the music died was March 13th, 2020. The Coronavirus pandemic killed music as we know it with one fail swoop. People who worked hard and sacrificed to attain the jobs they had in the music business were furloughed and let go. It took a lifetime of investing and planning to create my business, studio, contracts, gigs, and clients and much of my work was taken away. 2020 was supposed to be my most successful year ever… The day the music died, I was told I could no longer work on the career that took a lifetime to create. Venues closed and the music stopped.
I didn’t spend too much time feeling sorry for myself. I thought about the things that the pandemic was teaching me; be grateful for what you have, appreciate the small things in life, life is precious, don’t take anything for granted, and hard times can create innovation… A lot of the best inventions in history have come from hard times and necessity. Although the music scene died as we know it, there will be innovation, inventions and creativity taking place due to necessity.
We all need to think outside of the box and figure out how we can be innovative during these times. We can persevere and create a new business out of the rubble of the old music business. It won’t be easy but it can be done. Don’t lose hope. People need music therapy more than ever so figure out the smartest way to deliver that therapy, joy and hope during these troubled times. The future is wide open…
