SmartWage and Clanstival have collaborated on a financial solution to help artists who may be suffering from financial constraints due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The startup and online festival will make artists’ profits available to them prior to the event.
Alex Platt, co-founder of SmartWage and coordinating the partnership with Clanstival, explained: “This collaboration is unique and quite different from our typical model, but after working closely with Leigh Wallace and her Clanstival team, we were able to adapt our solution to help the artists receive their first share of the profits a month earlier than they otherwise would have.” 
The participating artists were thrilled to receive their profit share via SmartWage’s solution earlier this week. Commenting on the artists’ reactions, Wallace explained: “As we have both witnessed, the gratitude from them speaks for itself. Everyone knows that the mental and physical strain of financial worry only creates unproductivity and has long-term negative effects. The service is a brilliant choice, not only for the relief it brings the end-user, but for the opportunity it gives employers to bolster their employees’ wellbeing and focus.”

Promoted as a live online interactive digital festival, the event has had to adapt to the reality of Covid-19 and the lockdown and is providing a novel way for people to come together to enjoy music and the arts, in a similar fashion to the hugely popular Global Citizen One World: Together At Home broadcast in April 2020. Clanstival is aiming to have around 500,000 people in attendance, and 15% of gross proceeds are in aid of Kenosis Community, an organisation committed to supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Based in South Africa, SmartWage provides a smart solution that gives employees instant access to a percentage of their earnings for work they have already done. Founded as a force for good, SmartWage promotes financial control, encourages saving and helps hard-working people avoid incurring unnecessary debt.