Beirut Music Support Initiative

In solidarity with Beirut's Music Sector, War Child in Lebanon and Onomatopoeia the Music Hub is launching the "Beirut Music Support Initiative".

The initiative aims to:

• Bring back the Live music performances to the city, and make it accessible to everyone.
• Support more than 150 musicians and people working in the music industry.
• Support Music Venues all over the city.
• Set up the Beirut Musicians Response Fund which aims at providing beneficiaries with cash grants.

In 2019, a massive popular uprising has erupted due to the economic situation raising fears of a collapse of the country.

In a context of economic slowdown, the state has become over-indebted and lacks liquidity. Public debt has continued to increase and the fall in currency value is drastic. Almost half of the population today lives below the official poverty line and unemployment rates are as high as 35%, out of which 17.8% are youth with more and more jobs vanishing every day.
The COVID-19 crisis came on the heels of grave economic and political crises that have hit Lebanon at the end of 2019. It had devastating economic costs — both directly and indirectly — given the very fragile economic environment of the country. Even before COVID-19 hit, there were massive business closures in reaction to the economic crisis that has exploded in September 2019. This was already leading to catastrophic increases in unemployment and poverty.

On 4 August, a warehouse at the Beirut Port exploded, causing widespread casualties and material damage. More than 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, while hundreds are still missing. The Government of Lebanon estimates that the explosions have left more than 300,000 people homeless. 

The COVID-19 transmission rates has reached 528,000 cases and 7200 deaths by end of April. 

There are currently five massive challenges in humanitarian sector in Lebanon[i], limited support and resources for refugees, economic crisis, food insecurity, COVID-19 Pandemic, and the latest one is the Explosion in Beirut. 

The damages caused dire situations to people in Lebanon, including musicians. 

The economic downturn that started in late 2019 and was then compounded by a political crisis and COVID-19 lockdown requirements resulted in many music venues in Beirut and other urban centers in Lebanon being closed, and in most musicians and other artists losing their sources of income. The Beirut explosion further exacerbated the situation as many of the most popular music venues were in Mar Mikhael and Gemeyzeh, 

Music (all types - traditional, classical, jazz, hip hop…), are an important part of Lebanese culture and therefore play a critical role in people’s well-being. Not having access to live music has further compounded the depression and sense of hopelessness that has increased over the past months.

Musicians are starting to either leave the country or to change careers. Additional Venues are under a risk of closing down for good. Leaving the country with no music scene, and destroying what has been built after the war.

Based on the key needs and gaps identified, Onomatopoeia the music hub and War Child Lebanon propose a response plan that will provide income for musicians and make music available to the public, especially youth and adults and contribute to the healing and improvement in well-being after the psychological impact of the past year. This response will build on the foundations of previous work, including recent work regarding COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the work is expected to be conceptualized, designed and implemented by working with local organizations and volunteers.

This project will support the music and art scene as well as venues to survive during this exceptional period, which is very critical for Beirut. This focus on musicians and involving them will contribute to them finding creative ways to pursue their music careers be pro-active in addressing the unpredictable circumstances and gain income in the new reality created by the pandemic.

The project has two main components:

A. Local Musicians Component

• Supporting musicians and people working in the music industry in Lebanon by creating a space for them to play and to exchange experiences;
• Actively partnering with local music spaces who work closely with local musicians to contribute in nourishing the cultural and musical fields;
• Helping the residents of Beirut to get over their trauma and try to go back to their normal life, knowing that music and live gigs help tremendously in healing such wounds;
• Reviving the areas destroyed the most and help revive the hospitality and cultural sectors
• Extending the project to support other arts activities, such as dance, theater, and art exhibitions 

Activities:

• Supporting around 150 musicians and sound technicians for one year. 
• Supporting local venues by offering live bands (free of charge) to help them sustain their spaces. 
• Two live open-air music events every week in Mar Mikhael starting in the Summer of 2021, each including 3 live acts and 2DJ/VJs sets to support also local DJs and VJs

B. The Beirut Musicians Response Fund 

• The fund will be set up by Lebanese musicians and managed by a Committee composed of Lebanese musicians, humanitarian specialists plus a fund-management specialist. Committee membership will be voluntary and pro-bono.
• Beneficiaries will receive a cash grant based on an application reviewed and approved by the Beirut Musicians Response Fund Committee composed of Lebanese musicians, humanitarian specialists and a fund-management specialist. Committee membership will be voluntary and pro-bono.
• This initiative will be supporting the musicians for one year.

Grants will range from $US 500 to a maximum of $US 1,000.