According to a press release from COSBOTS, each member will receive P1,000 before the end of the year. COSBOTS says the decision was taken to align with government’s interventions to try and stimulate the creative industry with a total of P3 million to be disbursed.
"The current climate, under which creatives operate, is an environment which has seriously been affected by restrictions from April 2020 to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, artists are slowly recovering from the disruption where they could not undertake their regular creative sector income-generating activities. From a royalty collection perspective, many businesses in the retail and tourism sectors got closed which meant a drop in revenue collection for COSBOTS," read the release.
The release states that artists are crucial to the future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic as the vitality of societies. Also COSBOTS stated, the country wishes to in large part see artists return to vibrancy to thrive and share their gifts in a variety of settings.
"Many of these artists’ work is in the ‘gig economy’ and as a result, have seen revenues evaporate during COVID-19 because of the shutdown of the entertainment industry and the precious income they could not afford to lose. "Although many creators are frustrated at the crisis created by COVID-19, it magnified the precarious nature of creative work in our country," read the statement.
The release further indicates that COSBOTS board released a relief of P1,438 to members at the height of the COVID-19 harsh lockdowns in 2021. The board continues to heed its members’ cries and hardships of conducting creative work post the pandemic therefore they have found it fit to offer a Post-COVID-19 Relief. The relief will only benefit members in good standing as at June 30 the first payment of which shall be from December 19.
"We must continue to look up to the systems we built with an eye toward increasing stability for artists in all creative sectors. This ideal response through the financial support gesture offered to our artists is meant to serve as a token of appreciation for members’ resilience during the two-year period of crisis. The priority of COSBOTS going forward is to licence every user, be it private or government because effective royalty collection and distribution will mean more money in the pockets of creatives.
As COSBOTS, we shall continue to partner with like-minded organisations to advocate for broad citizen economic empowerment across the entire value chain of the creative industry. COSBOTS remains committed to improving the lives of its members.
