A ‘Great Cultural Depression’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers

I think Neal Stephenson's idea of Ractors (Diamond Age) is prescient. As the world bifurcates more into poor and rich, and the rich decide to go more remote, we'll have some crazy blend of OnlyFans and on-demand live entertainment. Imagine you want to have dinner, so you hire a band across the country to play music for you, live.

TFA:

“ In the top echelons of classical music, the violinist Jennifer Koh is by any measure a star.

With a dazzling technique, she has ridden a career that any aspiring Juilliard grad would dream about — appearing with leading orchestras, recording new works, and performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

Now, nine months into a contagion that has halted most public gatherings and decimated the performing arts, Ms. Koh, who watched a year’s worth of bookings evaporate, is playing music from her living room and receiving food stamps.”

I think a greater depression will be from those performers who are - right now in many places - forbidden to work. I will be curious to see how many people of the arts chose to exit the career field because they could not survive endless lockdowns.