Amazon commits €500,000 to German entertainment industry
December 10, 2020
Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios have announced a €500,000 commitment to support workers working behind the scenes in Germany’s entertainment industry that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many TV and movie productions, concerts and other events have been delayed or came completely to a halt due to the Covid-19 crisis. As a result, workers behind the scenes of the entertainment industry are especially going through hardships, not being able to compensate financial losses easily. To support them, Amazon Prime Video donates to Backstage Heroes, a fundraising campaign by the magazine STERN. Through this initiative, STERN supports roadies, make-up artists, gaffers, sound technicians and other workers who suffer under the Covid-19 related lockdown.
Some of Germany’s biggest entertainment stars are also supporting the initiative, including Michael Bully Herbig, Carolin Kebekus, Veronica Ferres, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Helene Fischer, Nico Santos, Jan Delay, Udo Lindenberg and more, with Amazon Prime Video as the main donor.
“No show can be staged, no movie be filmed and no concert be held without the people working backstage to make it all happen,” said Philip Pratt, Head of German Amazon Originals for Prime Video. “Many of these backstage heroes are working project-based and have been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis that brought most artistic endeavours to a halt. This is a difficult, challenging time and we are aware of the hardship many people are going through. As we gear up for production on a number of Amazon Original series in Germany and across Europe in the coming months, we’re committed to continuing to support the broader creative community through this crisis.”
“We are thanking Amazon Prime Video in the name of everyone who will be able to benefit from it very much for their generous support,” said Florian Gless, editor-in-chief STERN. “It’s amazing to start the Backstage Heroes initiative with half a million euros right from the beginning. We are thrilled by the positive response that our idea found. The donation initiative is starting today and some of Germany’s biggest music and TV stars will contribute personally. They are not only creating awareness for the situation of backstage crews, they will also spend five minutes of their time during the holiday season for a raffle in which they will surprise winners with a song, a poem, by reading the Christmas Tale, and more. From living room to living room, in private and exclusively.”
The Backstage Heroes initiative by STERN will be a cooperation with elinor.network. elinor is an independent organisation to offer a digital finance tool for any type of civil activity but also for artist studio communities, class funds or support funds (like e.g. the KunstNothilfe). The platform supports groups to organise and manage common funds effectively and transparently. All donations will be collected by the STERN e.V. foundation, the donation association of STERN, and fully forwarded to elinor.network to check applications and distribute contributions. Affected persons can apply fast and unbureaucratically for an emergency aid of €1,000. An honorary jury selected by elinor for this specific activity will decide upon applications.
Amazon Prime Video’s €500,000 donation in Germany is part of the $6 million commitment announced earlier this year to support the European TV and film production creative community through the Covid-19 pandemic.