AUSTIN, Texas -- In the wake of SXSW being canceled, the mayor of Austin and other local leaders are encouraging people to go out and support their local businesses and artists.
READ MORE | SXSW 2020 Canceled Amid Coronavirus Fears
But there are others impacted by the cancellation who don’t get to benefit from that patronage.
T.J. Masters is a freelance audio engineer, who says that with SXSW's cancellation, certain event contractors are left with no recourse.
It's a key part of any production.
“I really love the effect that good sound can have on your mood, on the physical feeling in your body," said Masters.
“If you look at a production in terms of three maybe key elements that an audience experiences, there's sound, there's lighting and sometimes there's video. Sound is probably the most under-appreciated of all because when there's good sound you don't really notice it you just experience it."
As a freelance audio engineer, T.J. Masters orchestrates that experience.
READ MORE | Freelance Photographer Grapples with SXSW Cancellation Month Before Wedding
“It really makes me happy to see people at concerts having a good time enjoying the music because I know that they wouldn't be able to do that if I weren't doing my job well. And that's kind of all the validation that I need," said Masters.
It’s a job that rarely gets a spotlight.
“We are intentionally out of sight, out of mind, you know, we dress in all black, we’re backstage. We’re kind of twisting knobs and making sure the show goes smoothly so that the artist can have a good performance... the people in my industry kind of pride themselves on that kind of invisibility," said Masters.
But that invisibility became painfully obvious when all of T.J.'s SXSW gigs were canceled.
“It’s one thing to rally our community and say let’s get out there, let’s support our local businesses, let’s patronize the restaurants we love, let’s tip generously. Yes, yes to all of those things," said Masters. "But nobody is really thinking about the fact that our people, the people that put on the entertainment, there’s really no way to tip us, there’s no way to patronize us, unless there’s an event actually happening.”
For Masters, there’s no plan B, and as he says, fewer ways for the community to help.
“I don’t have insurance clauses, I don’t have backup plans. Nobody pays me a down payment that I get to keep when I get booked for a gig, right, I get paid when I do the work. And so when the work is taken away from me, it literally means no income," said Masters.
READ MORE | What You Need to Know About the Possibility of Community Spread of Coronavirus in Texas
As for what he lost financially?
“Probably in the neighborhood of between $3,000 and $4,000, which for me is about 10 percent of my yearly income.”
A tough break, that comes with the territory.
“The thing about the next couple of months is that they lead into summer when it becomes a slow season again. And so this is really the prime time of year to be stockpiling if you’re a contractor like I am, or you’re a freelancer like I am, you make hay when the sun is out basically," said Masters.