MusiCares Launches ‘Help For The Holidays’ E-card Aid Program

MusiCares is continuing its COVID-19 relief efforts by launching “Help For The Holidays” aid program, offering $250 essential goods e-cards to the first 4,000 eligible applicants. 

Musicians and event professionals with at least three years of past employment in the industry who have been impacted by loss of income due to live music event cancellations can apply. Tuesday’s announcement notes that all genres and live professionals are eligible including artists, musicians, production crews, technicians, and business teams.

“Layoffs have left bands, crews and music support people jobless and struggling to attain basic provisions, from food on the table to gasoline in the car,” Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares, said in a statement. “Despite the support we’ve been able to provide to date, the situation has yet to improve for the music industry and the need grows. We continue to encourage all music lovers to support impacted industry professionals, especially during this holiday season, one that we know will look wildly different than years past.” 

The Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares established the COVID-19 Relief Fund in mid-March to help artists and touring professionals whose livelihood have been drastically impacted by the pandemic including loss of work, medical diagnosis, threat of eviction, and other personal emergencies. The fund was started with $1 million donations each by MusiCares and the Recording Academy, with an invitation to the music community, including labels, streaming service “and anyone who is able to join,” to pitch in with relief efforts. Bill Silva Entertainment, StubHub, Universal Music Group are just a few of the music organizations that have stepped up to make major contributions, along with support from George Harrison’s Material World Foundation, Alicia Keys and She Is The Music and many others. So far, the fund has distributed $20 million to help more than 20,000 people in need across the music industry. 

MusiCares’ updated list of online resources includes the food insecurity hotline 1-800-5HUNGRY and Find Food search with WhyHunger, an organization whose mission is to end hunger advance the human right to nutritious food in the U.S. and around the world.