While some of the music industry's biggest names may be able to comfortably ride out the pandemic, not all artists are in a financial position to do so.
While many have turned to recording tracks at home and performing live-streams to keep the momentum going, there are a number of organisations that have pledged emergency funding to struggling creatives.
Among those vowing to financially support musicians impacted by the coronavirus crisis is streaming giant Spotify, which has launched a Music Relief project.
The initiative was this week rolled out in the Mena region, with the company adding a Beirut non-profit to its list of beneficiaries.
Spotify has partnered with the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac) on its initiative, under which the platform matches monetary pledges from its users.
Regionally, donations will go towards Afac's Artist Support Grant, a scheme launched this month that will sponsor up to 150 artists with $3,000 (Dh11,017) each.
Spotify will match pledges, dollar-for-dollar, made to Afac on its donations page. The platform will donate up to $10 million in total, with the amount dispersed to organisations in line with incoming donations from users around the world. For example, if users pledge $10,000 in total to Afac, Spotify will match that amount. Other organisations supported by the Music Relief project include Help Musicians in the UK and MusiCares in the US, with 20 beneficiaries listed in total.
"Supporting the artist community across the Mena region has always been at the heart of what we do at Spotify," says Claudius Boller, Spotify's managing director for Mena. "Today, it is more important than ever to continue supporting and building this community to ultimately help those most in need."
We hope to ease the burden of loss of livelihoods and opportunities for artists
Afac, which was founded in 2007, works with creatives from a number of disciplines, including artists, musicians, photographers and filmmakers.
"The majority of artists across the Arab region are already working in challenging contexts," says Rima Mismar, executive director of Afac. "The coronavirus crisis has mainly magnified long-standing inequalities and lack of social safety nets. Thus, it is essential now more than ever to balance immediate actions and responses with strategic visions and goals.
"By offering vital grant support in a very difficult and volatile time, we hope to ease the burden of loss of livelihoods and opportunities for artists."
Submissions for the Afac grants close on Thursday, July 2.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Results
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
