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A US musician has started a crowdfunding campaign to help road crews who have lost work as a direct work of coronavirus.
As the disease forces bands to cancel tours across the globe, former The World We Knew singer Frank Fanelli has set up a GoFundMe page to help those whose livelihoods have been severely impacted – including roadies, sound technicians, booking agents and tour management.
Frank, who owns CAT Clothing, has released a line of -T-shirts labelled ‘Merch Daddy’ on the GoFund Me, and he plans to split the money between anyone with proof that they’ve lost income as a touring crew member due to the coronavirus.
UPDATE FROM MISSION CONTROL: Unreal 1st day for the #NOMADFUNDRAISER! Reached our goal of 10K and we’re well on our way to doubling it so we can help hundreds of touring personnel who are out of work! NEED HELP B/C YOUR TOUR WAS CANCELED? Contact us here: https://t.co/WUPyzovOXG pic.twitter.com/QtYbkH6bZ9
— Frank Fanelli (@FGFanelli) March 17, 2020
As Kerrang reports, the GoFundMe page has already secured over $11,000 of its $20,000 goal.
A statement explains: “For every $20 you donate, you’ll not only get one of the new ‘Merch Daddy’ t-shirts, but I’ll be splitting ALL the donations between everyone who can prove of the touring job they lost through the band themselves, the booking agents, or the management teams.
“This will take time to sort through, but we’re all cooped up in our homes anyway, so we’ll stay busy with this work. If donations flourish, as a team we can hopefully chip away at rent, buy groceries, feed/our children, pay the phone bill, etc.”
As coronavirus continues to spread across the US, New York mayor Bill de Blasio has issued an executive order to close all movie theaters, concert venues, nightclubs and small theatres.
Mayor de Blasio confirmed that the executive order will come into force on Tuesday, and described the disease as an “unprecedented threat”.
In the wake of de Blasio’s announcement, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also confirmed that the city will now shut movie theatres, concert venues and bars.
On Sunday, leading US stars such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus urged their fans to stay at home and self-isolate in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak.
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