COVID-19 Update: March 23, 2020: Battening Down, Mobilizing, Helping Out

Here's our latest update of events related to the coronavirus. Nations continue to move, if not quickly or totally effectively, to deal with the disease and provide relief for workers. The entertainment industry is mobilizing on several fronts, raising money and petitioning the government for help.

In the US Congress, wrangling continues over an economic stimulus bill, which, Democrats say, provides plenty of relief for businesses and not nearly enough for workers: wapo.st/33D2quY.

In the UK, Variety reports, "The government will pay up to 80% of people's wages, with a maximum of £2,500 ($2,930) per month, slightly above the national median wage. There is no upper limit to the funds the government is spending on this and payments will be backdated to March 1." bit.ly/3bltAJr. At the same time, there's concern about what it will mean for the self-employed. Check out this petition posted by UK industry member Stephanie Dell: bit.ly/3bltAJr.

Variety also reports that corporate bailouts for the entertainment industry as a whole aren't looking likely: bit.ly/2UoiI6w.

A newly created public Facebook group aims to connect audio and video professionals with resources to help each other through the pandemic: www.facebook.com/groups/844955695999581/.

A group of leading live event industry organizations has joined together to create a GoFundMe campaign to raise $250,000 in donations to provide relief to eligible freelance professionals affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to event cancellations. More here: www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/news/story.asp?ID=-KMWWAL.

Lincoln Center has now cancelled all performances through May 17.

On Broadway, two shows, in preview when New York shut down, have shuttered: Hangmen, Martin McDonagh's black comedy, starring Dan Stevens and Tracey Bennett, and a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Laurie Metcalf, Rupert Everett, Patsy Ferran, and Russell Tovey.

Meanwhile, The Broadway League, has reached an emergency relief agreement, which provide Broadway employees with pay and health insurance during the current suspension of all Broadway shows due to the COVID-19 crisis. Details can be found here: nyti.ms/2WJo6nT

And Variety reports, "The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents more than 180,000 members, has sent 80,000 letters to Congress appealing for lawmakers to include displaced entertainment workers in a federal aid package." More here: bit.ly/3bn4ObE.

IATSE is also working with a coalition of entertainment unions: bit.ly/2QEz226.

Also: Netflix has created a $100 million relief fund to help members of the creative community who have been left unemployed and without a way to earn an income during the coronavirus crisis. The streaming giant said the bulk of the funds will go toward supporting laid-off crew members: bit.ly/3aicdsQ.

The Recording Academy is inviting its members to take action: "During these unprecedented times, Congress is actively working on relief packages to support Americans, our health, and our economic well-being. It is critical that self-employed, freelance, and independent music makers have access to relief funding to help alleviate any of the financial burdens inflicted by canceled tours and gigs, studio sessions, and other employment opportunities. Contact Congress today and urge lawmakers to include the artistic community in any relief package. Music makers need all of our help." The petition is at www.grammy.com/advocacy/act#/45.

The Summer Olympics is looking increasingly less likely, now that Australia and Canada have pulled out: cnn.it/33LKoqn.

The Entertainment Industry Fund launched a Covid-19 response fund to help workers: bit.ly/2xkXkXY.

Meanwhile, companies and associates are responding with updates and creative solutions:

Audio Engineering Society has a message for its members: "Now, more than ever, AES members are encouraged to utilize their free virtual access to AES's exclusive resources, including thousands of searchable articles in the AES E-Library, the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, AES Live: Videos, Section News and Reports, Social Media, and much more. AES members are further encouraged to take the time to create or update their member profile and make it searchable to further enable the audio community to come together and share knowledge and resources."

The team at Avolites writes: "These are unprecedented times we find ourselves in, so at Avolites we are dedicating our time to support you for the duration of this pandemic. Over the coming weeks we will be hosting a serious of online learning sessions and talks with industry professionals as well as updating our online resources for you to practice and improve your skills. The full schedule and resources can be found on plasa.me/is0r2. The office will be open as usual and our PC based products, the T1, T2, Titan Mobiles, and AvoKeys are still available should you wish to have all the latest features ready to go when our industry bounces back. Finally, our support and servicing teams are on hand for you to contact with any question or query you may have, so contact us directly or fill out the contact us form on our website. www.avolites.com and www.avolites.us."

DTS, the Italian lighting manufacturer, has announced, "Following the new COVID-19 virus containment measures which came into force on March the 21st, we communicate that DTS Illuminazione s.r.l. will comply with the suspension of all activities until April the 3rd. Sales managers will be still available at their mobile phones."

From Gerriets comes the following statement: "Gerriets International is taking every possible measure to ensure the safety of our employees, clients and customers. We are following all CDC guidelines for health and safety in the workplace. Most of our staff have the ability to work remotely and still be very effective at answering your questions should you wish to reach out to us. We are still open during normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm EST. Our custom sewing workshop and warehouse is functioning as normal. We will keep you informed if circumstances change, many of which will be out of our control."

Inner Circle Distribution has announced; To do our part to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 Virus, Inner Circle Distribution's offices will be closed starting Monday March 23. All non-essential businesses have been ordered closed by the Mayor of Broward County Florida. We are closely monitoring the situation and our team is working remotely to serve and support our customers."

K-array, based in Italy, announces, "We have already been taking necessary steps to adapt our operations while remaining committed to driving business by enacting remote smart working for those who can, which has enabled used to interact with your customers and suppliers in a more safe and active way than before. Our next action, in respect to the latest restrictions imposed by the Italian Government on March 22, is to suspend all activity within the factory. Effective immediately, K-array will remain engaged and available for support Monday through Thursday through April 3."

Lytehouse Studios in Brooklyn, New York, says in a statement: "To support creators, attendees, the health and well-being of the general public, we want to help move your event to a live streaming platform such as Facebook. Instagram, Vimeo, Zoom, and most other streaming platforms. We can assure you we are doing everything we can to keep our studios a healthy and sterile work environment. We are providing hand sanitizers, masks, and booties to all of our clients. Everything is being cleaned and disinfected multiple times a day following the CDC's most recent recommendations."

Magnum, the Atlanta, Georgia-based rental house, has put together a number of helpful informational guides. These include A Social Distancing Gig Guide: Tips for the Covid-19 Downtime: bit.ly/3bhVN3N; a detailed list of online training opportunities: bit.ly/2wmCHuI; and a list of streaming concerts: bit.ly/2UdHJCT.

Martin Audio is planning a series of webinars: martin-audio.com/training.

Mountain Productions has come up with a timely and innovative offer, creating "a series of innovative emergency response structures from existing equipment to produce customizable large-scale mobile hospitals and emergency response structures that accommodate up to 30,000-sq.-ft. along with smaller mobile testing centers and temporary living quarters. With a large global engineering and design team, the company can also tailor smaller structures and provide bespoke solutions for health care systems with limited space. The company, with a staff of more than 150 and facilities in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Dublin, Ireland, is available to deploy these structures around the country and globally on an immediate basis with a build time of three days. 'This is a time where our company's innovation can meet our nation's need with incredibly unique solutions. We are ready and able to do so and deploy our equipment immediately to support America and those across the world,' says Ricky Rose, CEO of Mountain Productions Inc. In this time of crisis, the Mountain Production's team is ready to band together to address needs across local, state, and federal level to help ease the strain on medical facilities nationally. If you, your company, or someone you know has structures or equipment that might aid in these efforts, we are inviting you to participate. We are all in this together and if you have the resources, our team will step up to ensure they are deployed to address this crisis." Learn more at: plasa.me/xisqt.

Radio Active Designs reports, "You should be aware that our friends at T-Mobile have entered into agreements with owners of the 600MHz spectrum that will allow T-Mobile to use those blocks for 60 days in response to increased demand for internet access. Therefore, blocks you could usually count on not being used by a licensee (for instance Dish) are going to be put into use by T-Mobile as quickly as possible. With most major events canceled this may not cause any issues but we wanted to make sure that our industry friends were aware of T-Mobile's plans in case it has an impact on systems you currently use."

From Stage Research, owner Carlton Guc writes, "During this time of idle theaters and postponed projects, Stage Research is offering any of our software programs for free. Use it for what you want -- learn something new, coordinate frequencies, create that highly complex sound design, upgrade your personal equipment to the latest version of our software or upgrade your professional equipment at the shop, in school, or your theatre. For free. It's on us. Hoping to ease the challenges we are all dealing with at this time. There is no deadline other than sometime after theatre resumes. Order from our store the normal way and use this code: SUPPORTARTS to get your 100% discount. Please tell your friends. We're here to help support the arts."

Starlite, the Moorestown, New Jersey rental house, says, "We are taking strong measures to ensure that staff members and our community remain safe, and that our company emerges strong. We will continue to monitor the situation and will abide by any interim guidance provided by the CDC or other authorities. Many of our staff members have already been working remotely and we are confident that we will be able to continue to assist our clients and partners during this trying time. We will continue to inform you of any changes and most importantly, our thoughts are with you, your team, and your families at this challenging time."

And, if you're looking for some entertainment at the end of the day, here are some additional options:

Abrons Art Center, located on New York's Lower East Side, is making a number of performances available for streaming: vimeo.com/abronsartctr.

Theatreworks, the Montain View, California-based theatre company is selling tickets to a streaming version of its recently cancelled production, They Promised Her the Moon: www.theatreworks.org/201920-season/moon-livestream/.

The website Opera Wire offers a comprehensive list of companies streaming performances: operawire.com/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-opera-companies-offering-free-streaming-services-right-now/.