COVID cannot cancel creativity

The cultural and creative sectors were one of the industries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, using digital tools, creativity and innovation, artists where able to stay in contact with their audiences, to share content and to bring concerts into living-rooms. New forms of content have emerged, some of them showing the artist recording in their own home and creating a more personal relationship compared with the previous stage-audience separation. Digitalisation has also brought music to people who would otherwise not necessarily have attended a venue, e.g. a classical concert to marginalised or vulnerable groups.

This cultural project is a joint initiative between the three Groups of the EESC. Featuring interviews with people involved in the music sector, it will explore how the sector has adapted to the restrictive public health measures through smart use of digitalisation and innovation, how this has accelerated digitalisation in the music sector, and how the innovation boost can be harnessed after the pandemic. The project will also explore the particular challenges musicians and other workers in the music industry have faced during the pandemic and how digital innovation could be used after the pandemic to improve their working conditions.

The project will show how crucial culture is for citizens, including in times of crisis. Supporting this sector and helping it to survive is essential for our society and will play a fundamental role in driving the recovery.