As the coronavirus pandemic forces festivals, concert tours, and album releases to be postponed or canceled entirely, musicians across the globe are coping with the financial effect of the virus in their own way. Some big-label artists are fortunate enough to be able to donate funds to benefit those in need. Other artists who are more independent, however, are coming up with creative ways to substitute revenue. Mac DeMarco and a group of collaborators shared their new subscription-based web platform Eternal Family as a way to stay creative and support themselves through the pandemic.
DeMarco shared a surreal and esoteric trailer to the site. Animated to be an otter-like character grinning at a computer screen, DeMarco explained the new platform: “Hi. I want to tell you about a new entertainment service. It’s called Eternal Family and you can gain access through eternal.tv,” DeMarco says in the trailer’s opening. “It’s an artist-run membership experience and a place to try out new ideas.”
Essentially, the new site is similar to that of a Patreon. Those who choose to subscribe for $5 a month of $50 a year get exclusive access to entertaining videos and other content from DeMarco and his musical friends. Fellow musician Jerry Paper will be creating his own videos to add to the website and DeMarco will share segments about his favorite audio recording techniques.
Sharing the trailer to Instagram, DeMarco’s longtime collaborative partner Cole Kush further explained the site, saying its a way to financially help out musicians and creatives: “60% of the monthly revenue goes to our creators and the rest to operations & funds to create and license more interesting things,” Kush wrote. “You can cancel anytime if you do NOT enjoy this service. The goal is to create stable income and a place to try out ideas that can be self-produced and perhaps hard to pitch.”
Watch DeMarco’s Eternal Family trailer above.