SLEEPING CITIES APPROACHING THE END OF THE TUNNEL. How musicians within Cultural & Creative Industries are coping with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this crisis exposes precarity.

The principle motivation of this research is to show how musicians within the Cultural Creative Industry (CCI) have managed the measures taken during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Given the impact of the pandemic, this project must address how musicians and cultural workers have responded to government policies that effect the traditional modes of performance. Using semi-structured interviews artists and musicians from Rotterdam and Berlin were interviewed, as both cities have been one of the biggest centers for cultural activities and arts in Europe. This means an inter-European cross-national comparison was made in regards of government policies and responses from artists during this pandemic. Most of our respondents could identify with the various precarities within CCI’s, that were already present before the pandemic. Financial instability and no guarantee for work were prevalent for the respondents and most of them were explaining numerous ways of making extra money on the side in order to survive. With respect to the reality of neo-liberal policies the research shows that they are indeed a key answer in to explaining the harsh conditions for creatives within CCI’s. Furthermore, this research illustrates the great importance of innovation within CCI’s. The interviewed artists are more than ever making use of different modes of digital and non-digital innovations within their creative processes. Lastly, this research also touched upon the psychological implications for artists. Deriving from the interviews it was evident that artists had some mental setbacks and struggles.