Movie productions, tours, concerts, plays, and shows have all come to a sudden stop. Since the initial waves of major lockdowns and precautions set in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the entertainment industry has taken major hits. However, the quarantine has not been disastrous for every industry–highlighted by the surprising success of the music industry.

Touring and holding concerts were the most lucrative paths for major artists and musicians around the world, but this steady source of income was quickly swept away due to major health concerns caused by large gatherings. Resolving to find a new approach, many artists turned to take advantage of the major influx in social media influence during the pandemic. Stuck at home for months on end, major platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Youtube have provided the closest resemblance of social activity for most people. With an already large following on platforms before the Coronavirus, major artists like Drake, Travis Scott, and Ariana Grande seized the opportunity to increase their activity on social media, teasing albums, and releasing new songs.

Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms have seen major influxes in streams and daily usage since mid-March, incentivizing many artists to drop new songs and albums as soon as possible. For example, Drake teamed up with Toosie to create a dance challenge that followed his release of his single “Toosie Slide” that quickly went viral. Other artists followed similar strategies, such as Travis Scott collaborating with Epic Games to hold a virtual concert in one of their popular video games, debuting the release of his single “The Scotts” featuring Kid Cudi. 

Many popular artists simply took the lockdown as an opportunity to release their music, with notable album drops such as “Wunna” by Gunna, “After Hours” by The Weeknd, “Folklore” by Taylor Swift, “My Turn” by Lil Baby, and many more. In more recent months, many artists have also begun to return to studios safely, allowing even more production.

“At first not a lot of music was being produced, but now since singers are more available to go to the studios it’s nice to listen to the newer stuff,” said senior A.J. Voleke.

According to an article by Forbes, popular musicians such as Drake saw an increase of almost 35% in streams accumulated across all major platforms compared to the months before the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the constant negativity and solemness brought by the Coronavirus, political issues, and other problems in the last number of months, the music industry has taken a major step forward, giving people an outlet to rely on in these times.