More On The Dynamic Impact Of COIVD

Usually, these posts focus on how the pandemic generates dynamic expenses and considerations for the organization but today we’re going to focus on musicians; specifically, string musicians.

This dynamic cost consideration is really more of a double-edged sword.

On one hand, if a string musician was playing considerably less over the pandemic, the need for regular maintenance items like changing strings or getting bows rehaired has been lower. At the same time, a lot of the materials involved in those maintenance tasks require materials that are imported and/or have seen pandemic related cost increases.

That means once concert activity begins kicking in, those costs to tool back up to pre-pandemic levels are going to be higher at a time when some have been out of work and with little to no performing income for more than a year.

If you’re curious about how much these expenses run, you need to check out this information, which started life as an article for The Strad and evolved into this online resource I’ve been updating every five(ish) years.

We’re just about a year out from the next rate of inflation update and I am all kinds of curious to see how these figures will change. I’m also going to see about securing some luthiers to come on Shop Talk and chat about how the pandemic will impact instrument maintenance and care, not to mention their business.