I "carefully skimmed" thru the language of this act. It's designed to help keep music venues...and employees thereof....above water for a time. And that's great.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem to cover the musicians/entertainers who comprise at least part of...if not the primary...draw in these places. In this regard, I've been out of work since March 13th, with no end in sight. I qualify for unemployment but cannot get my application processed (long story). Guess I need to find another line of work.

My son is a musician in Charleston SC and he was able to keep his head above water by live streaming. Many people who follow him at the different venues where he played, supported him through vemo during these live performances. At different times he was able to raise money through donations and an auction to help out several who suddenly found themselves out of work. Unfortunately this doesn't work for most musicians because they are more band oriented. Most of his time he plays solo which has worked to his favor. Many musicians have played for decades and suddenly found themselves unable to work so they are just packing it in as "tlc" attested to above. This really is sad because it's totally out of their hands. I'm glad they are pushing for this “Save Our Stages Act” but the musicians who help bring in customers need to be included also.

This is also a good way to support musicians and artists. Even if you give just $5 a month, it gives them something to rely on. Look for some of your favorites and sign up.
(link...)

During the main lockdown my son and a neighbor, who happened to be in the business of promotions got pretty creative. To ease some of the stress of the quarantine, my son would put on a concert on his property a few feet off his street. This was in a quaint little area known as old town MT. Pleasant not far from Charleston, and he would do this every Saturday during the quarantine. He had several of his friends, who were also some of Charleston's top male and female vocalist/musicians who had bands but also were solo artists like he was, that came out to help put on these concerts. They accepted tips via a tip bucket but also online which helped them out tremendously during this down period. Although he provided a tip bucket He never asked for tips and it was amazing how generous his neighbors were. He made it a point for them and all there to social distance and if they hadn't he probably would've quit putting on these mini concerts, it could affect his and their lives and livelihoods. Each performer would come out individually on separate days and they and my son alternated performing. Another neighbor had T-shirts of the concerts printed, and all profit was donated to frontline workers at a local hospital. They were having upwards of two hundred people in attendance. His neighbors would have family members over and they'd sit in their lounge chairs at the edge of their properties. Many from his surounding neighborhood would also bring chairs and sit in the street but at the same time practice social distancing. I think it was a really unique experience for all who attendened. What I enjoyed about it is I don't get the opportunity to see him often and each event he live streamed. He's now back to basically playing his old schedule but he only plays in an outdoor environment and I am no longer able to watch any of his gigs cause he stopped doing his live streams. I'm not going to lie, I worry daily that he might catch the virus. Charleston is one of the worst locations for the virus.