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Everyone's Hands Were Out, Palms Up7/19/2020 Image: Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash
Major arena and stadium musical acts took the "free" money from us when the 2.2 trillion USD CARES Act hit last March. Some groups received up to 1 million USD to pay for their roadies and other members of their crews who are not working because they're not allowed to tour. Named on the list of brands who didn't think they'd get exposed publicly are Guns 'N Roses, Eagles, Slipknot, and Tool. In any other context, Nickelback would never be mentioned with these iconic bands but they put their hands out, too. This is a bad, bad look. Bands of this size are corporations and have money managers who saw the interest free cash as a way to earn some interest before paying it back. Nobody believes these names could not have carried their crews' living expenses for several years. Bands still at the club level and lower have drawn no ire for accepting the help and rightfully so. And where is the US government's oversight? Spending someone else's money has always been fashionable. Our favorite doughnut shops and barbers will be gone forever but at least we can stream our favorite acts as we figure out how to use clippers on our own heads. |