In this coronavirus crisis, performing artists have effectively been rendered unemployed. The indefinite closure of public venues, arts institutions, galleries, theaters, clubs, and concert halls is a terrible blow to the performing arts industry, generally, but artists are the most vulnerable of all. This income is all we have — it is a matter of survival. Artists who depend on this money are hurting right now. In this time of crisis, artists cannot survive solely on limited emergency grants, crowdfunding, merchandise sales, and government funds, which may take months to receive, and many are ineligible for.* And if artists do not survive, the institutions that support them will collapse, so we must work together to find solutions. Cultural institutions whose mission it is to support and promote artists can provide immediate assistance.
 
We, the undersigned, are calling upon cultural institutions to work in partnership with artists to develop an ethical and humane policy for COVID-19 cancellations, which could include the following:

1. Pay a percentage of artist fees for previously contracted commitments, and work to postpone events.
2. Renegotiate new contracts for postponed events, as they are rescheduled.
3. Develop alternative performance models (live-streams, commissions etc.) to ensure that artists can continue to work in the interim.
 
We are addressing institutions with the ability to pay artists now — for example, those with independent revenue sources: endowments, boards, government funding, foundation support, donors, patrons, and fiscal and corporate sponsorships. These include festivals, museums, universities, nonprofits and some theaters, clubs, performing arts centers and concert halls. These institutions have the means to offer fees for artists, which is squarely in line with their mission of supporting the arts. Nonprofits and organizations, which have previously secured funding for programming and artist fees could release funds to artists now, appeal to their boards and funders, or apply for grants on the artists’ behalf. Some of these nonprofits will receive government assistance, which can support the payment of these fees.** We do not expect independent promoters and small nonprofits and venues to accommodate without assistance; in these cases, funds should be made available for presenters to cover artist fees.
 
This proposal requests advances or deposits on artist fees for previously contracted events. Artists should be paid a fair percentage of the original fee, which would be determined by both parties on a case-by-case basis.*** This fee is a good faith commitment by both parties to postpone the event. Advance compensation is fair and reasonable, considering that artists will need to hold future dates, displacing other offers. A future date hold has inherent value. Artists and presenters will need to work together to renegotiate the contract, once the rescheduled date is determined. Upon rescheduling, the renegotiation should consider that touring or production budgets will have changed. This arrangement shows a commitment to rescheduling events, while protecting artists’ income in the interim. In situations where a postponement will not be possible, a percentage is a meaningful way to support artists in the short term. In lieu of, or in addition to postponement, institutions can create alternative performance models such as live-streams, commissions, remote collaborations, masterclasses and workshops by teaching artists etc., both to ensure artists can continue to work in the interim and to further their mission as presenting institutions.****
 
This is not the only solution, and specifics will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis. It is a show of community solidarity in the absence of adequate union representation or other forms of leverage. It is a call for all of us to work together with compassion to address these issues. This is not only a matter of livelihood for working artists — presenting and sharing artistic work is of deep personal, emotional, mental, spiritual, and intellectual concern for everyone. It is essential for the public to be able to experience art and for cultural institutions to survive this crisis, so that we can continue to inspire each other in such difficult times. We hope that arts institutions will work collaboratively during this time, when artists and the culture industry are in dire straits.  

(CLICK NEXT TO SIGN IN SUPPORT)
___________________________________________________________________________________

* For example, non-citizens and undocumented artists will not be eligible for some forms of government assistance in the US.
** https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/trump-kennedy-center-funding-stimulus/index.html
*** A 50% model would provide significant assistance to the artists, while retaining some funds for operations if needed. In cases where institutions are supported by government funding, it may be possible to disburse full fees now.
**** https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nac-fund-streaming-artists-1.5502636?fbclid=IwAR2hs-u98_KRalLuBlyvzrr_jyhjrJHeYm5U8iFhJqBaAtRSkvX5vJxdS2c
______________________________________________________________________________________

PRESS ON THIS LETTER: Article by JAZZTIMES  -  https://jazztimes.com/blog/jazz-artists-raise-concerns-over-coronavirus-cancellations/

Supporting Information and Documentation:
(Articles regarding the impact of Covid-19 on artists and the culture industry)

NYFA Initiative to document income losses for artists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CyQBOZy3SDHn_7KG8xuUnZ-bHlfipl9KSBN8KvN3ucY/edit#gid=0

Example of Live-stream initiatives: https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nac-fund-streaming-artists-1.5502636?fbclid=IwAR2hs-u98_KRalLuBlyvzrr_jyhjrJHeYm5U8iFhJqBaAtRSkvX5vJxdS2c

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9338205/coronavirus-aid-bill-music-industry-workers
https://deadline.com/2020/03/adam-schiff-hollywood-coronavirus-unemployed-labor-production-1202887767/?fbclid=IwAR1T6Kj9cFNNVklCebFbE_tvpZYpk2kha9xLHLUiQQBm_mwlS-_WE6Udtuc
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/817342965/how-the-coronavirus-fallout-could-be-devastating-to-the-practice-of-jazz
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/musicians-coronavirus-second-cataclysm/608074/
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/performing-artists-and-the-financial-fallout-of-the-coronavirus
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/coronavirus-canceled-tours-behind-the-scenes-967499/
https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/artists-musicians-coronavirus-tour-concert-cancellations-life.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/trump-kennedy-center-funding-stimulus/index.html

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Presenters/Institutions working with artists on ethical cancellations: Roulette (NYC), Blank Forms (NYC), Issue Project Room (NYC), Pioneer Works (NYC), New Music Circle (St. Louis), Other Minds (San Francisco), Silkroad Ensemble (NYC/Boston), Princeton University, Duke University, Cleveland Uncommon Sound, Bemis Center (Omaha), The Music Gallery (Toronto), Stadtgarten (Cologne, Germany), ALICE (Copenhagen, Denmark), Western Front (Vancouver), San Francisco Opera, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater (NYC), San Francisco Ballet, Chicago Opera Theater, Peak Performances (New Jersey), Mount Tremper Arts, Earshot Jazz (Seattle), Ars Nova Theater (NYC), Tone Madison, Arts and Literature Lab (Madison), ICA (Philadelphia), Center for Performance Research (NYC), Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (Palo Alto), Indexical (Santa Cruz)

Signatures of Support:

Amirtha Kidambi (Musician, Educator, Activist, Bandleader)
Julian Day (Super Critical Mass, An Infinity Room)
yosef lewis
Stephen Haynes
Amanda Davis (Producer)
Nick James Scavo (Musician, ISSUE Project Room, Tiny Mix Tapes))
Danny A. Mekonnen (p.k.a. Debo Band)
Elizabeth Adams
James Yeh (Writer, Features Editor at The Believer)
Sruly Lazaros
Jacob Becker
Luisa Muhr
Olivia Baldacci
Lea Bertucci
Alison Kuo (Director of Operations, SVA MFA Fine Arts)
Aasim Syed
Dan Blacksberg
Arun Ramamurthy
Red Wierenga
Daro Behroozi
Sonny Singh
Ka Baird
Ryan Keberle
Nathan Cross (Astral Spirits Records)
Shurmila Dhar
Darius Jones
Bob Bellerue
Tanya Kalmanovitch
Jessica Ackerley

Nat Baldwin
Ada Adhiyatma
Bora Yoon
matt mottel
Abigail Levine (dancer, artist)
Colin Hinton
James Wright
Mike Casey
Eric Arn
Alison Loerke/ALIA Prod
Stefanie Brendler (Brivele, Shpilkis, producer)
Eliot Klein
Dave Ruder
Lesley Mok
Matt Moran
Benjamin Fox-Rosen
Aaron J. Shay
Jessica Hallock
Matt Romein
Colin Tucker
Maxime Robillard
Margaret Schedel
Matthew D. GANTT
Laura Weiner
Tara Sheena
Emma Nova Young (Producer, DJ)
Eric Freeman

Nick Dunston
Marline A.Martin, CREATE
John McCowen
Ben Nahum
Kevin Murray
Tovah Feinberg
Gelsey Bell
Clarinda Mac Low
Carah A. Naseem
Mike Servito - The Bunker New York
Joanne Kokot-Hoppen
Marc Ribot
Chloe Alexandra Thompson (Artist / Sound Designer)
Inge Teloo
Jared
Sara Serpa
Art Handlers Alliance
Ian Epps (Musician/Artist/Activist)

David Grubbs
Ami Yares
Thomas Watkiss
Benedict Nguyen
Alvester Garnett
Jon Lipscomb
Rick Burkhardt
Niko Hasapopoulos
Anastasia Clarke
Joel Rubin (musician, music professor)
Adam Vidiksis
James Hoff
Janice Lowe
Joanne Scarfo
Caroline Getz
Ian McColm
Brad Cohan (freelance music journalist)
Marija Kovacevic
Caley Monahon-Ward
Sara Vogel
Megan Schubert
Parijat Desai
Kamini Dandapani
Wolfgang Daniel
Eric Wubbels
Paul Sperry
Cat
Jake Wunsch
Tad Michalak (presenter/curator)
Tom Swafford
Vasudevan Panicker
Joseph White
Ed Bear
Rudresh Mahanthappa

C. Spencer Yeh
Elisabeth Halliday Quan, Rhymes With Opera
Maryam Ivette Parhizkar
Cammisa Buerhaus
Catherine Christer Hennix
Alex Westhelle
Cory Smythe
Pat Spadine
simon m brown
Tamara Lukasheva
Caroline Thon
Terry Greiss- Irondale Ensemble Project
Michele Elizabeth Kennedy
Jason Eckardt
Peter Gordon
Margaret Rorison
Cisco Bradley
Scott Kiernan (E.S.P. TV)
Kristin Marting
Farid Matuk
Paul Steven Ray
Marshall Yarbrough
Catalina Ouyang
Chris McIntyre
Indra kidambi

Aki Onda
Cynthia Arrieu-King
Leyna Papach
Susan Briante
Indra kidambi
Sriranjani Padmanabhan
Austin Wulliman
Daniel Neumann
Rebecca Holman Williams
Ashlin Aronin
Eric Lyon
Mario Guarneri
Tess Dworman
Rachael Guma
lily gold
Amanda Hameline
Amanda + James
Aaron Meicht
oyku tekten
Kimberly Bartosik
Kate Ladenheim
Kevin Fellezs
Jessie Young
John Also Bennett
Eleanor Smith
bill farrington
Jack Katze
Aaron Siegel (Experiments in Opera)
Yoon Choi
Ivy Baldwin (Ivy Baldwin Dance, Inc.)
Zavé Martohardjono
julie covello
Stephe Cooper
Steve Weintraub
Matt Chilton
Lindsey Jones
Brian Shankar Adler
Yanira Castro
Booker Stardrum
Nadia Tykulsker
Greg Kelley

Jen Shyu (composer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist)
Jessi Olsen
Viola Yip
Venkatesan  Kidambi
Nathan Repasz
Aram Bajakian
Felix Hauptmann
Jascha Narveson
Emma Judkins
EmmaGrace Skove-Epes
Zach Layton
Lawrence Kumpf Blank Forms
Vallejo Gantner
Vikas Menon
Scott Gordon (Tone Madison)
Eloysa Zelada
Chris Madak
Christie Finn
Pallavi Kidambi
Spencer Edgers
Rachel Levitsky
Mary Halvorson
Sabisha Friedberg
Karl A.D. Evangelista
Ian Arnold
Elizabeth Behrend
Anna Witenberg
Mae Kessler
Candice Segarra
Cory Bracken
Janani Sridharan
Melanie Maar
Lisa Schonberg (percussionist/sound artist)
Benjamin Cleek

Elliott Sharp
Natacha Diels (Ensemble Pamplemousse, UCSD)
Ashwin Nambakam
Natalie Smith
Benjamin Viale
Christopher Pelham
Emilie Lesbros
Bradley Eros
Benjamin Schaefer
Reiner Michalke (Stadtgarten Concert Hall, Cologne)
Thomas Shrack
Emily Twines
Chloë Bass
james gardiner
Drake Andersen
Howard Alper
Anna Linka, Music in the Center
Sylvia Gorelick
Will Mason
Eli Neuman-Hammond

Ben Vida
Matt Nelson
Padmaja Vedartham
Andrew Howard Livingston
Keith Kirchoff
Todd Simmons
Jeffrey Taylor
Kate Maroney
Nadia Chana
Billy Delfs
Ashna Ali
Charles Eppley
Selwa Abd (Pick Up The Flow)
Estelle Bajou
Woramon Jamjod
Elizabeth Newton
Nataša Prljević

Anna Webber
Jean Cooney
Tara Anderson
Stanley Scheller
Jesse Perlstein (experimental musicain, composer)
Regina Carter-Garnett
Eva Davidova
Barbara Rusterholz
Angela Morris
Brandon Ross
Samuel Garrett
Dana Buoniconti
Mike Clemow
Jenn Grossman
Ella Mack
Rudy Gerson
Monika bravo
Roopa Mahadevan
Vanessa Gilbert
Eli Winter
Michael Sperone
Ryan Muncy
Brian Lindgren
Kim Savarino (choreographer & performer)
Jeff Tobias
Paul Rusterholz
Andrew Drury

Matana Roberts
Lorenzo Pasquali - ONDADURTO TEATRO
Sierra Ortega
John O'Brien
Iduna
Sasha Frere-Jones
Matt Merewitz
Jesse Phillips-Fein
Jack Langdon
Angel Deradoorian
Trina Basu
Tobias Hoffmann
Anjna Swaminathan
David Krakauer
Kathy Tagg
Phillip Golub
Ledah Finck
Layale Chaker
Ava Mendoza

Vijay Iyer
Liberty Ellman
Hernan Jay Rodriguez
Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Kate Mohanty
Ariel Abrahams
Matthew Walker
Sean Noonan
Andrew C. Smith, Indexical
Eric Porter
Carolina Mama
Quin Dickinson
David Stern
Ryan Sawyer
Cody DeFalco
Max Alper
Erin Sickler
Corey Mach
Carina del Valle Schorske (Writer, Editor @ The Point Magazine)
Claire Schwartz
Kyle Forester
Corinne Daniel
Denice Frohman
Michelle Fletcher

Chris Weiss (Northern Spy, Clandestine, NNA Tapes, Birdwatcher Studios)
Adam Downey
Miguel Gutierrez
Ben Owen
Emily Bookwalter
Keshav Batish
Joshua Fried
Leila Bordreuil
Juan Yriart
Jon Gonnelli
Tashi Dorji
Tashi Dorji
J. Bouey
Barbara Bryan (Movement Research)
Ursula Eagly
Shane Shanahan, Co-Artistic Director - Silkroad
Mario Gotoh
Shea Mavros
John Gilbreath, Earshot Jazz
Sandeep Das
Preeti Vasudevan
Mazz Swift
Hadi Eldebek
Kinan Azmeh
Kayhan Kalhor
Sofia Fasulo
Sophia Vastek
Katherine Young
Mark Christian Miller
Ken McCarthy
Jamie Baum
Robbie Lee
Anthony Beliard
Kido Nhlapo
Sandy Gordon

María Grand
Anjna Swaminathan
Monika Herzig
Nahshon Dion Anderson
Mark Suter
Kojiro Umezaki
LeRoy Downs - Just Jazz Series
Steve Baczkowski
Russell Greenberg
Anthony Elms, Chief Curator,  Institute of Contemporary Art / University of Pennsylvania
Jean Carla Rodea
Scott McNiece
Hanne Graversen
Nolan Chin

Rob Mazurek
Phillip Sudderberg
David Miller
Ryan Packard
Paul Bedal
Avreeayl Ra aka Arthur O'Neil
Andy Weber
Matt Gold
Dan Pierson - pianist/engineer
Evan Salvacion Levine
Anna Gillan
Bob Ritsema
Ben Husmann
Brian Seyler
Arom Choi
Mark S
Michael Dessen
Brad Walseth
Sam Wenc
Christopher Bates
John Sutton
Andrew McNiece
Abigail Severance
Cody MCKINNEY
Ethan Philion
Quin Kirchner
Constantin Basica
Douglas Bistrow
Najee-Zaid Searcy
Jacob Vass
Alejandro Ayala
Mary Ann McNiece
Gregg Jackson
Todd Nicholson
Patricia Nicholson Parker, Arts for Art, Inc.
Charlotte Farrell, CPR - Center for Performance Research
Mahmut Aydin
Violet Tucker
Brandon Stosuy (The Creative Independent, Zone 6 Management)
Lydia Ainsworth