With gigs dried up, Cape Breton's Ashley MacIsaac wants to play in your living room

Celtic music sensation Ashley MacIsaac is just trying to earn a living.

Like many people employed in the entertainment industry, the world-renowned fiddler says he's struggled over the past nine months as live events were cancelled across the country. 

"You have to try and adjust until it will either open up again by next fall or winter, or move on to another job. And frankly, I don't think anybody wants to see me working in Napoli (Pizzeria in Sydney)," said MacIsaac.

The 45-year-old musician from Creignish, N.S., said he lost 95 per cent of his income this year, and like many performers, has relied upon federal emergency response benefits to pay bills. 

But musicians are not the only people in the industry who are affected by the economic downtown, he said.

"It's, across the board, a difficult time," said MacIsaac.  

"I'm on the verge of bankruptcy. A lot of other artists are on the verge of bankruptcy. It's not something that any business can really contend with — having nine, 10, 12, possibly 18 months, without an income."

After flying home to Cape Breton in October, MacIsaac isolated for 14 days so he could perform at the Celtic Colours International Festival. 

It was one of two performances for MacIsaac since last February, with the exception of his quarantine ceilidhs. His next gig booked is in December 2021.

Personalized tunes and greetings

Through his personal Facebook page, and email, MacIssac is now offering virtual greetings and tunes for a fee.

A family in Denmark is expected to pay $500 for a private concert. A videotaped fiddle tune was also performed for two Cape Breton men to mark their wedding for just $100.

"They wanted a piece of music to commemorate it, so I wrote the Gay Wedding Jig," said MacIsaac.

"I figured nobody else has ever written the Gay Wedding Jig, and I'm the perfect guy to do it."

MacIsaac is offering online instruction for seasoned players, and a fiddle-tune subscription service straight to the inbox. Fans with bigger budgets can also secure hour-long performances, including a countdown on New Year's Eve. 

MacIsaac's new way of connecting with his audience is part of a growing trend. American website Cameo features thousands of musicians, actors and other celebrities charging fees for personalized videos sent to fans.

'Guessing and hoping'

Duane Nardocchio, operations manager for the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative, said the pandemic has brought a host of challenges to the creative sector.

With no clear picture of when music events will resume at full capacity, Nardocchio said he's hopeful governments will step up to provide support as needed. 

"There's a lot of guessing and hoping, but really there is no definitive timeline. There's a balance there of trying to maintain positivity and moving forward with the intentions that things will return to some semblance of what we're used to."

He said touring musicians may have seen some of the biggest impacts.

"In some cases, their complete platform to generate an income as they normally would have done was completely obliterated," he said. 

Nardocchio said difficult times often inspire creativity, so he's anticipating great tunes will spring out of the recent year.