This year has felt like a whole decade of disasters already. No one asked to live in an episode of Black Mirror, but here we are. Coronavirus is an equal opportunity virus that hurts us all, even if we don’t get it.

Everyone reading this blog post knows someone who has been affected in some way or has been affected in some way themselves. Earlier this month, my brother and my parents had travel plans that they made months ago. They went backpacking across Europe, which has really been hit by the coronavirus. Luckily, they’re okay health wise, but my brother came back to a world turned upside down. His classes have been cancelled and he and all his coworkers have been made redundant, as he worked for a catering company for sporting events. He’s had to move back in with my parents and try looking for jobs while taking his classes online.

The Darkness released an album called Easter is Cancelled. Must be kind of awkward for them considering that’s what it seems like will happen. Easter egg hunts and taking pictures with a person in a bunny costume? Not gonna happen. Everything’s been cancelled: sporting events, theatre, concerts, movie releases, non-emergency medical procedures, hair appointments, and St Patrick’s Day parades. You don’t realise what you have until it’s gone.

What hasn’t been cancelled though are essential services. It’s really eye opening and shows who the real heroes are in society. I really hope that people’s paradigms are shifted and they stop calling minimum wage workers “unskilled”. They deserve a living wage and benefits. Here’s to the truckers, shop assistants, delivery drivers, bus drivers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, postal workers, people working for the electric company. Be kind to those working during this time.

Most of us are prisoners in our own homes and feeling stir crazy. I’ll admit it, there were a few times I broke down, cried, and wished I got the coronavirus and died. You know how they say time flies when you’re having fun. Well, time goes by so slowly when you’re bored at home. I live below the poverty line and even before all this insanity, I didn’t go out much except to go to the gym, which I can’t go to anymore. I spend my days playing video games because that’s all there is to do. I’m really liking Animal Crossing and I’m so grateful that it came out right now because it’s the one thing keeping me sane.

Art and creative work has been devalued so much and it’s a real shame. It’s what’s keeping people sane at this moment whether it’s a TV show, video game, movie, music, or podcast. We all consume art. This blog has a focus on musicians and my goal is to gain a better understanding of classic rock and share my knowledge and to show that classic rock is more than meets the eye and ear.

How to help content creators

I write about music and I consider myself to be a content creator, though not a legendary one. I want to talk about creatives: writers, musicians, artists, actors, podcasters, and comedians. With festivals, concerts, and events being cancelled, it’s rough. Creatives and people who work for them are losing out on income. People who are fans of creatives don’t have as much income as they used to and are struggling to make ends meet so it’s no longer in their budget to financially support them.

The most important thing is to take care of yourself first. You know how they say on planes to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others? You can’t properly take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself. Charity begins at home.

With a lot of time spent at home, here are ways that you can help your favourite content creators financially without money coming out of your pocket:

• If they have a YouTube channel, turn off Adblock and sit through the ads.
• If they’re a musician, stream their music on Spotify. Even though it’s peanuts, it’s still something.
• If they’re a blogger and have ads on their website, turn off Adblock.
• If you need to buy something anyway and your favourite creator has an affiliate link or discount code, use it. It doesn’t cost you extra and it helps support your favourite creators.
• If you love your Adblock, download the Brave browser (FYI this is an affiliate link, doesn’t cost you anything, but I get $5 for each person who signs up and downloads using my link).
• The Brave browser pays you to browse by showing non-invasive privacy respecting ads and you earn tokens just by browsing the internet. You can withdraw these tokens, exchange them for cash and keep them for yourself. Or you can donate them to bloggers, YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and even charities (my personal favourites are Pencils of Promise and Rainforest Foundation US). You can set up monthly automatic donations or donate as you wish. It’s your choice!
• Creatives can sign up to be a Brave Creator if they have YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, or a blog of their own. It’s like Patreon, but without money coming out of fans’ pockets.

Of course, if you don’t have the money there are other ways to support content creators without spending a dime. Just a little time can make a huge difference. I’ll share the smallest acts first and then share what’s the biggest help.

• Turn on notifications for your favourite creators and give their content a like. This boosts their content in the algorithm. The algorithm looks at interactions and the stuff that gets the most engagement gets boosted.
• Hit that follow button. More followers and more engagement means there’s a better chance of that creator getting sponsors. Follow them on every platform for most support.
• Use your time social distancing to binge watch/read their content. Get caught up!
• Sign up for their newsletters or email notifications of new content. Make sure to open those emails and click the links to anything new.
• Write a comment, even if it’s just an emoji or “good job”. Comments are engagement and help the creator crack the algorithm.
• Better yet, write a nice, thoughtful comment. Tell them why you liked that post or video. Tell them they inspire you. Seeing nice comments can be really encouraging and get us through depressing days.
• Participate in their Q&As, livestreams, giveaways, and contests. Small creators often feel lonely and are happy to chat! I can tell you from experience I love it when people take an interest in my blog and photography and ask me about it.
• Shout out your favourite creators, especially smaller ones. Pay it forward!
• Talk about your favourite creators with your friends and family. It can be as simple as tagging your friends in the comments. The biggest non-financial thing you can do is share. Word of mouth is powerful.
• Give content creators a signal boost by sharing their content on social media. Retweet, reblog, hit that share button, send a link to anything that your friends and family might like. Sharing is caring!

It’s so easy for creators to be lost in the algorithm sea, so help them out and interact with them and consume their content!

Musicians are getting creative and instead of concerts, they’re doing livestreams. Keep an eye on their social media and participate in their livestreams and watch them. That’s 100% free and really makes a musician’s day!

How I can help as a music blogger

I don’t have a lot of money, just enough to cover my basic needs and I always feel bad because I wish I could do more. I’m just trying to tread water and keep my head above the water, but I want to offer something to any musicians who want publicity and to talk about their music and gain more fans. Collaborations are a two way street and help both creators.

As you can see at the end of every blog post, I always make a call for musicians to contact me to collaborate. I have been featuring and interviewing musicians for a while now here and I love doing this. Share this blog with your rock musician friends and let them know that I am happy to collaborate and would love to talk to more musicians and be a platform to showcase your musical talent.

If you’re not a musician, don’t fret! I’d also be happy to do interviews or guest posts with vintage fashion bloggers/influencers, vintage style models, and people who write about music. You also provide a great perspective on the classic rock/vintage scene and I’d love to collaborate as well!

I have a lot of catch up to do and I am looking forward to signal boosting more artists and sharing tastebreakers, new music that classic rock fans might enjoy.

Edit: You can now read my Winter 2019-2020 picks!

Stay safe and healthy and take good care of yourselves!

Loved this blog post and want to support? If you cannot afford to donate to The Diversity of Classic Rock, there are many free ways to support the blog: Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, click the follow button on my website, leave a nice comment, or send your music or classic rock related books for review.

You can also download the Brave Browser using my referral link (I get $5 for every person who downloads the browser through my link) and earn tokens that you can donate to your favourite creators (including me!), donate to charity, or you can keep them for yourself and redeem them for cash. Thank you!