I actually had the time to clean out the old shed that sits in our backyard. That is the last thing you really schedule for a cleanout. I can’t even remember if I have ever cleaned it out when we moved here thirteen years ago.

I also had time to sort out my comic book collection and put the ones of value in plastic sheets. You know when you have time to do things like this, you really have too much time on your hands. Lockdown was not fun, but right now my house looks as best as it ever did; I even had time to build my greenhouse.

But now I feel the isolation time has really gone on too long. I have my projects rolling, many though sit at a standstill because of the holidays. I finally feel kind of bored. I was thinking to myself, why do I feel bored? You have all these small projects that never end, and you are not experiencing any stress. At first, I could not pinpoint what it was. Then it hit me.

I am not exposed to any new or live music. With the whole issue of COVID-19, I have been less and less exposed to new music. No, I don’t browse through digital channels  or browse through social media for songs just to find something new. There is too much crappy music out there to do this.

Instead, I have been listening to music that I am already familiar with and know. After listening to that, I feel I have heard this so I’m fine with it and started to cut down with listening without thinking about it. I just checked for the past week I haven’t listen to music at all. I have done some playlisting on the radio station, but those has just been old hits that I knew from before. So not just that I’m not exposed to new music I’m really not listening to music anyway.

And with the new numbers that come out from different places, you can see that I’m not alone with this phenomenon. It seems most people are getting off of the music. It’s not that they feel like they can enjoy the silence. My guess is that music is something that on a larger scale we do together. No party music since you are in lockdown and don’t really have any parties. You don’t put on party music with yourself. Same with concerts and other things the music is where you gather with people, not so much alone.

I also noticed that many of my friends have been turning to Audiobooks. They had a lot of time listening to books they hadn’t got time for before. The same with this, you would never go to a party and listen to an Audiobook, that is something you do when you are alone.

But now I feel empty. I have caught up with all the things I needed to do before but never had time to get to them. Now I want to get exposed to new music. Sure, there are a lot of showcase festivals that are online. But to tell you the truth, seeing live streaming by myself is not an option that will help to bury this empty feeling.

We just must wait until the world is ready again. Then I will meet up all my friends and indulge in some new great music. I just hope my musician’s friends have prepared a lot of it during this time. I am placing  a lot of my hope on them.

Editor’s Note: Peter Åstedt has been working in the music industry for over 30 years. He has started record labels, distribution systems, and publishing companies. Peter also runs several major showcase festivals and is an advisor for INES and co-founder of MusicHelp/Discover Sensation. He has worked with the Top Ten most streamed songs and had music on both the Olympics and Super Bowl. Peter has currently taken up the seat of Station Manager of Cashbox Radio, working with MD, PD and station owner, Sandy Graham. His latest venture is a new Showcase Festival in Sweden, Future Echoes scheduled for February 18-20, 2021.