Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale spoke with Forbes about the financial realities of being a musician during the global COVID-19 pandemic, after she wrote earlier this month on social media that “most of the bands you know and love won't make it out” of the crisis.
Asked to clarify her remarks, Hale explained, “Well, I think that a lot of people look at musicians and look at people that have record labels or albums coming out and they think, 'Oh, they're set, they've made it, and they're millionaires' . . . A lot of these younger bands that have released a record or are attached to labels, they're not getting that financial help that everybody thinks they are.”
Hale continued, “There are a lot of young bands that we're just not going to hear about because of all of this. They're going to have to go back and get normal jobs and start all over again. I think about it with my reality, too, depending on how long this goes on. We had played the biggest places that we've ever played overseas, and during this last record cycle we were really building something there, but do we have to start over again because of this?”
Hale told us that she feels fortunate that Halestorm enjoys the road: “Thankfully, we love to tour. We're out on tour 300 days a year. But if we weren't touring so much, all of us would need extra jobs to make ends meet. It's like, thankfully we love touring, we love to do that, but that's the reality of that.”
Halestorm recently announced the launch of its #RoadieStrong campaign, aimed at providing essential financial assistance to road crews all over the world.
