What a tumultuous year for live music.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe this year, we were forced to examine just how fragile the live events industry actually is, and by association, how unsure the lives of live events professionals can be. Events the world over were forced to cancel, international touring came to a screeching halt, and Live Nation’s revenue took multiple hits as a result. Though now, with light at the end of the tunnel and just a little bit of luck, the events industry might be poised for a 2021 comeback.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Live Nation‘s president Joe Birchtold said he now sees the path to live events’ return “with much greater clarity,” noting that he feels “very good” about the prospect of in-person events resuming by next summer. Birchtold continued,
“In the key US/Western European markets, it continues to be our expectation that by next summer, we’re back with our major outdoor shows—our amphitheaters here in the US, festivals globally. We’ll be able to do those shows.”
Birchtold’s sentiments align with Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino’s optimistic comments from earlier this summer, noting that he expects a “robust outdoor summer season” next year. Furthermore, Ticketmaster is already preparing by repurposing existing tech for the post-COVID world in order to make future shows safer.
While Birchtold and Rapino continue to trend towards a return to traditional in-person events by next year, Lollapalooza’s co-founder Marc Geiger’s outlook is far less bullish, suggesting earlier this summer that live events may not return until 2022 at the earliest.
Via: CNBC
Featured image: Insomniac Events
