Samir Babaev is making the best of a pandemic like countless artists around the world. The global lockdown has led to concerts being canceled. Thrive Global discovers what keeps the tribe of musicians busy when it is not on tour in a conversation with Indo-Russian Footballer Turned Singer Samir Babaev.
It’s believed that musicians, like other artists, can work anywhere. Artists need not clock into an eight-hour shift every day, they need to only tap into their creativity. Artists around the world are facing slight difficulties, along with the rest of the world, amid lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Musicians now cannot go on tour or perform live at concerts. It is true, just like everyone these circumstances will drastically affect their field of work. Here’s a look at what Indo-Russian singer Samir Babaev, based in St. Petersburg, has to say about the situation.
CURRENT PURSUITS
Saint Petersburg-based footballer turned Indo-Russian singer Samir Babaev is making the best of his time. This award-winning Indie musician has also been a major part of the tracks for several collaborations across the globe, such as ‘MeduzaSTERVA’, and ‘MacKa‘.
Babaev told Thrive Global, “I’m making use of the free time to create some new music and material. I am jamming with my lyricist on video calls. Everything can only happen online now.”
“There was an event in Mumbai that got canceled; one in Dubai; and one in Fiji. So, now is the time to work on old and new projects and create as many songs as one can. There are no deadlines as of now.”
LONG-TERM EFFECT
While arguably everyone now has an abundance of downtime, and all are trying to make the most of it, no one can ignore the fact that there is no way the music business will bounce back in a few months.
“The events market has taken a real hit, and right now we’re making the most of it by doing web shows and web concerts,” says Babaev.
However, at this stage, one cannot assess the damage to the industry. We will know the full picture once the lockdown eases.
“The short-term effects I think are easier to understand. An enormous loss in revenue is the most visible one. But the way this ripples outward is hard to predict, especially for people like us, who aren’t dealing with large-scale stats regularly. Event companies might have a better idea of what it looks like in terms of all the dominoes that will come crashing down on each other. It’s affected us most in terms of gigs we could not play, and people are out of reach of us,” Babaev added.
Samir Babaev says his experience of the global COVID-19 crisis “is not like most everyone else’s” in the country. The “MacKa” hit-maker said that his “unique” status is the reason he doesn’t have to face the day-to-day hurdles that one must have to go through.
“I know I’m in a unique position, and my experience with this pandemic is not like most everyone else’s in my country and around the world.”
Samir is a well-known footballer in Russia and has won multiple music awards and he has been nominated for major awards like ‘MTV Russia Music Awards’ and ‘Biz Asia Music Award’. Samir has also won the title of a Rising Artist of Russia during a ceremony in the Kremlin for his achievements.
Samir used to play for the FC SKA Rostov-on-Don football Club before he started music as his career.
Samir Babaev, who is self-isolating, does not understand what this crisis is like, although it has deprived him of performing outdoors. Now he’s busy doing inside his home.