WHEN musicians are cut off from paying audiences, how do they get by?
The coronavirus pandemic has led to mass cancellations in the UK and beyond, ending tours and forcing venues to keep their curtains down.
This has some as Scotland’s folk and trad musicians were preparing for the key summer season – the busiest period of the year for most.
Now many of those who make their living from live performance are turning online for income.
They include acclaimed piper Ali Hutton, a member of 11-piece Celtic “supergroup” Treacherous Orchestra. Hutton, who also plays with Old Blind Dogs, is supposed to be on tour in Scotland right now with Ross Ainslie as the Ross and Ali duo, and they had gigs planned in Italy and Germany in the coming weeks.
Now that’s all off and late- summer events are also in doubt amidst the ongoing self-distancing guidelines aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, Hutton and his partner – fellow musician Fiona MacAskill, of the Kinnaris Quartet – are trying to prepare for the August arrival of their first child. That has given Hutton hope during the current turmoil.
“Everyone is clambering at the moment,” he said. “Every musician is trying to think of something. We don’t know how long this is going to go on for.”
Many musicians have set up accounts on the Patreon online platform, offering rewards to fans for a regular subscription.
Hutton says he’s working on that, and also putting together a book of 40 of his original tunes.
He has also returned to penning commissions for paying customers, which he hopes will bring in much-needed extra income at a time when there are no certainties for those without regular work.
“It’s something I’ve been doing for a while,” he says. “It’s not just a reaction to the current situation. When I’ve done it before, often people have come along to gigs to hear the tunes. It’s nice to have a connection to people.” The process, costing around £300, sees Hutton – who also tutors guitar at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland one day a week – interview clients about what, or who, they want him to write about.
As well as getting a recording of the finished article, clients receive a copy of the score.
“It’s quite a process,” he says. “I go back and forward finding out as much as I can before starting to write the music. It’s very personal.”
For more information, visit www.alihutton.com
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