Publication

CAML Review: Special issue on the impact of Covid-19 on music communities

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the music industry upside down and has impacted all levels of creating, sharing, promoting, researching, studying and preserving music. How has the pandemic affected music collections and services in galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (collectively known as the GLAM sector)? National regulations for social distancing around the world have resulted in cancelled tours and festivals, interruption in writing and recording and the shifting of these music-making practices onto virtual platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Zoom. While some artists are archiving these performances, many expire after 24 hours and are lost documents capturing this moment in history. Instructors have likewise had to grapple with ways of delivering lessons remotely, with private and college/university-level instruction changed drastically through digital mediation. While other economic sectors are planning for gradual reopening, the music and education sectors are predicted to endure longer periods of isolation. These sectors, which require physical closeness, face some uncertainty about when in-person activities can resume and the economic sustainability of the industry’s current model.

Jan Guise and Jada Watson

CAML Review, Co-Lead Editors