Katie Noonan has been relying on JobKeeper payments to stay afloat as coronavirus pandemic left singer ‘crippled by enormous financial loss’
Katie Noonan has been relying on the government’s JobKeeper payment scheme to stay financially afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 43-year-old musician, who was unmasked as the Sloth on The Masked Singer Australia this week, began losing income when her tours were cancelled in March.
Katie told the Courier Mail on Wednesday: ‘I was crippled by the enormous financial loss, very significant loss, as an independent producer. JobKeeper has been a life saver and I was lucky enough to get on that.’
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Doing it tough: Katie Noonan has revealed she has been relying on the government’s JobKeeper payments to stay financially afloat as the coronavirus pandemic left her ‘crippled by enormous loss’ when her planned touring schedule was disrupted in March
The ARIA-award winning artist was due to go on tour in March before the lockdown and travel restrictions were enforced across Australia.
While she has been lucky to receive the government support, she noted that the industry as a whole will likely take a long time to bounce back.
‘We were the first industry decimated and I sadly think we will be the last to recover,’ Katie said.
The Breathe In Now singer also pointed the finger at commercial radio stations across the country for not actively giving Australian artists airplay while they are unable to make money from live shows.
‘JobKeeper has been a life saver and I was lucky enough to get on that’: Katie said the entertainment and arts industry has been hit hard by COVID-19 and she was lucky yo be given access to Government assistance. Pictured: Katie performing at the 2017 Melbourne Cup
‘The only way to make a living is to play live to a large gathering of people’: Katie said that while most people sought music online for free, many artists relied on touring to make money Pictured: Katie at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
‘There’s an entire generation that believe that music is a free thing on the internet and unfortunately it is, so the only way to make a living is to play live to a large gathering of people, which is precisely what we cannot do right now,’ she said.
Katie’s criticism of Australian commercial radio comes after she was unmasked as the sloth on The Masked Singer Australia on Tuesday.
She explained that she decided to appear on The Masked Singer because it seemed like ‘so much fun’.
Unmasked! Katie was unveiled as the Sloth on The Masked Singer Australia on Tuesday after singing Higher Love
‘I love the idea of getting out of my comfort zone. It’s something that I’ve always really been into,’ she continued.
Katie admitted the experience is unlike anything she’s ever done before.
The Masked Singer Australia continues on Monday from 7:30pm on Channel 10
Tune in: The Masked Singer Australia continues on Monday from 7:30pm on Channel 10