Recent reports indicate that the music industry has taken a big hit during COVID-19. The industry lost $30B in ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise, concessions, and more.
We all pretty much predicted major losses in the music industry. Much like others, the virus has slowed down business tremendously. Some performers have found ways to squeeze out a few shows in the form of drive-in and virtual concerts. It generated some profit but nothing compared its pre-COVID numbers.
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Pollstar report gathered that the music industry has lost $9.7 Billion in ticket sales. Over $20B in advertising, merchandising, and concession losses were also recorded. It’s even worse when you realize the industry was anticipating a record-breaking $12B year in ticket sales, per
Hip Hop DX.
President of the group that owns
Pollstar, Ray Waddell shared a quote on the music industry getting past COVID:
“It’s been an extraordinarily difficult year for the events industry, which has been disproportionately impacted by the Coronavirus. As painful as it is to chronicle the adversity and loss our industry and many of our colleagues faced, we understand it is a critical undertaking towards facilitating our recovery, which is thankfully on the horizon. With vaccines, better testing, new safety and sanitization protocols, smart ticketing and other innovations, the live industry will be ramping up in the coming months, and we’re sure that at this time next year we’ll have a very different story to tell.”
It will be back but it won’t be the same.
I think it will come back better than before. The industry is being forced into innovation and will introduce us to the next generation of live music. We’ve had to fight a little harder to connect with each other. That work isn’t going anywhere once things return to a normal. We’ll have multiple ways to connect and be with each other, even if we can’t be with each other.
By using the internet, we’ve been able to be everywhere whenever we want. We’ve been able to watch two of our industry favorites go head to head in Verzus. The internet has also allowed us to spend time with our favorite artists and in some cases get more intimate than usual. Adam Aziz details for
Okayplayer, “quarantine has not only forced artists and the music business to innovate but it has also forced fans to enjoy music and their favorite artists in new ways.”
Aziz also shines light on the Pandemic’s effect on fan interaction, citing that in-person moments will be limited. It’s possible that more intimate experiences can exists though as artists may spend more time with smaller audiences.
If you think about it, the workload for the artists seems like it’s on the brink of increasing. They’ve got to get their coin. The pandemic has shown that the industry can lose big too.
On the basis of technological advancements and artists’ increased workloads, we’re hoping 2021 will look better for
