With the majority of the world on lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the live music industry has been hit pretty hard. There are no concerts or music festivals to attend, clubs to dance at, or small live venues to check out local talent. Our favorite artists are no longer playing shows around the world, but are instead stuck inside just like the rest of us, and we are all looking for ways to stay entertained. Like the majority of our world right now, the live music industry has also moved to online streaming. Artists and musicians across the world have performed music live from their homes for daytime talk shows, benefit concerts, and daily entertainment everyday since the outbreak thanks to online television and social media streaming on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. Whether it is Tori Kelly singing her favorite songs on her couch or Sam Smith and John Legend performing for a Global Citizen benefit home concert, listeners across the globe are nothing but short of entertainment during this pandemic.
Screenshots by Rossane Ramos on LatestChika.com
In a city like Prague, Czech Republic, locals and visitors can find a variety of live music opportunities, from the Czech Philharmonic concerts to live DJ sets at the hottest clubs. Despite the pandemic, Prague has been able to keep up their live music scene online. A project called #KULTURAŽIJE allows viewers to watch live broadcasts of various shows and performances online from home in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It was initiated by the internet television company MALL.TV on March 10, the first day of lockdown in the Czech Republic, but has since turned into the “largest local online music festival.” Ever since the start of #KULTURAŽIJE, countless concerts, theatre, and dance performances and other cultural events have been streamed online daily. According to Lukáš Záhoř, the director of MALL.TV, “viewers contributed more than 2 million CZK within two weeks” and this money from the public can provide financial support to artists in any amount.
Thanks to live streaming courtesy of Facebook and Czech TV, live classical music is also in the palm of our hands. The internationally renowned Czech Philharmonic Orchestra played a COVID-19 benefit concert in order to raise money for the elderly in the Czech Republic. Profits from the April 25th concert went to the charity, ŽIVOT 90. The Czech Philharmonic is scheduled to do another concert towards the end of May.
Missing Prague’s iconic nightlife and club scene? The Prague College Digital Campus has you covered. On March 11, they live broadcasted three of Prague’s most talented DJs mixing live into your homes via Instagram and Facebook live. These streams brought forth by Leg Work, a series of club nights organized by a Prague College student, aim to broaden the city beyond its current musical offerings. According to Prague Morning, “Leg Work is a series of club nights organized by Prague College student Don, that aim to broaden the city beyond its current musical offerings.” The DJ sets include a variety of music such as Afro Fusion, UK Rap, Hip Hop, Trap, Drill, Dancehall and much more.
Fortunately, Prague’s live music scene is no stranger to virtual content. CESNET, the association of domestic public universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, started a project called eMusic back in 2015. Through eMusic, numerous music and dance projects have been carried out over distances hundreds of miles long.
Though the Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way of popular leisurely activities like attending concerts and dance clubs, fortunately, it has not stopped in Prague. The Czech Republic’s largest city has managed to keep the party going for music lovers across the country thanks to social media and other live streaming platforms. Though on lockdown, the city has undoubtedly and successfully executed plants to keep up its live music scene for entertainment and for a good cause during the uneasy times of today.
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