Pictured Above: Erol Ozsever is an independent artist in the Tampa Bay area and teaches at USF College of Music.
Courtesy of Chuck Terzian
By Annalise Anderson and Kaitlin Fairchild
When COVID-19 hit Florida in March and social gatherings were limited, Tampa Bay musicians were forced to say goodbye to live performances.
Despite the inability to perform music in-person, local bands and artists have found alternative means of staying connected with their fans and their passion for music.
Artists in the Florida music scene have faced challenges due to the closure of local venues and capacity decreases at bars where they would typically perform. According to the National Independent Venue Association, 90 percent of independent venues report they will close permanently in a few months due to lack of federal funding.
Becky Barnes, general manager of Jannus Live, said that the downtown St. Petersburg venue had to cancel over 40 concerts since March and that the pandemic “has really hit hard” and “well beyond” what was originally anticipated.
“COVID-19 has been tough on not just Jannus Live, but our industry as a whole,” Barnes said. “There is this uneasy feeling of a trickle-down effect that you don’t know when it will end… Artists, agencies, touring staff, production crews; plus individual venues, their staff, bartenders and all the other people it takes to put on live music (have all been out of work).”
Brendon Porter, USF St. Petersburg alumni and bassist for St. Petersburg band Speak Easy, understands the financial strain on venues and the symbiotic relationship they share with musicians.
Courtesy of Eric Yoder
“No business has gone completely unscathed during this pandemic and musicians are having to work with venues that are recovering at varying rates,” Porter said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “Some organizations and people have been incredibly empathetic towards us and want to provide musicians with whatever opportunities they can give… Some businesses have to be a lot more financially cautious and therefore can’t offer the same booking rates or schedule guarantees.”
Treis Heitsch, USF Tampa alumni and front man of Tampa-based band Treis & Friends, said that live shows are the “bread and butter for growing your audience.”
“How do you entice (your fans) when you don’t have a platform to find them?” Heitsch said.
Blake Billington, USF St. Petersburg alumni and guitarist of St. Petersburg-based band The Drain Outs, said that the band had to cancel multiple shows.
Courtesy of Blake Billington
“We had to cancel a ten date tour we were really looking forward to, but it’s better that we don’t put people at risk,” Billington said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “On the bright side, we’ve been using our time to write tons more material, and hope to have a follow up album to drop in the coming months.”
Limited gathering sizes have made it difficult for artists to continue releasing their work and finding innovative ways to produce more content for their fans. But one resource has been immensely helpful for local bands and nationwide acts alike: The Internet.
Speak Easy has been hosting live stream performances through the summer and plans to find more new ways to interact with its virtual audience. Eric Yoder, USF St. Petersburg alumni and guitarist/vocalist for Speak Easy, thinks that “staying present online is really big right now.”
“Artists are trying to get viewers to get to know them through social media to get more fans and have an avenue to spread their art,” Yoder said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “Which can be successful, but I personally think it leaves a divide between the viewer and artist that makes it hard to stand out.”
Erol Ozsever teaches guitar at USF College of Music and regularly performs as an independent artist. He said that performing on Facebook Live “is just not the same thing” as in-person performance.
“What gives people a deeper connection to the music is experiencing the music, not just passively listening to it on a playlist on Spotify,” Ozsever said.
Ozsever believes that the influx of livestream concerts from major label artists caused his number of monthly listeners to plummet.
“That definitely hurt indie artists more so than people want to let on,” Ozsever said. “If people are sitting at home watching Facebook Live concerts and they have the option to watch Vance Joy live or watch me live, who do you think they’re going to choose?”
Despite the uncertainties plaguing music industries right now, Ozsever has not seen a decrease in student enrollment in his classical guitar and music theory classes. He encourages young musicians to learn how to tailor themselves for success amid an economic downturn.
“The sad reality is that a lot of people who have more conventional career paths, unfortunately, have lost their jobs and have been furloughed,” Ozsever said. “I think the reality is that there’s no such thing as a safe job anymore… If you’re a freelance musician, you can always adapt to things if you’re your own boss.”
Find Speak Easy, Treis & Friends, The Drain Outs and Erol Ozsever on social media and Spotify.
