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With live performances canceled, artists have been left relying on online sources of income
The last year has saw the live events industry squeezed within an inch of its life. With live performances canceled, artists have been left relying on online sources of income, and venues around the world are dangling on the precipice of extinction. As the Covid-19 pandemic rolls on, what might the future of live events look like? And what role might brands play in the survival of one of the world's most life-affirming industries?
2,500 rock fans, a cavernous stage littered with amplifiers and guitar leads, and a local lad playing a hometown gig. You could have been forgiven for thinking in August that the pandemic had passed Newcastle, England’s Gosforth Park by entirely. But this was no normal concert. Each of the fans who’d rocked up to see Sam Fender play to sell-out crowds stood fenced within socially distanced steel corrals spaced evenly throughout a festival ground.
Promoters billed the set-up as the first socially distanced concert site in the world; staff wore PPE and each of the spectator platforms was equipped with hand sanitizer. With the focus on precaution, it was a far cry from the hedonism of Coachella or Glastonbury.
It was also a far cry from the soggy dance party in Wuhan, China staged just a week later. As Hubei province opened up once again last year, the Maya Beach Water Park in the city in which coronavirus was first detected threw open its gates and began tempting back tourists and young revelers with live DJ sets on the poolside.
Between Gosforth Park and Maya Beach Water Park we saw two possible futures for the live music industry and the artists that depend on it. Throw everything at the wall to stage devil-may-care DJ sets, or the safe, subdued option of politely picketed festival grounds?
With live performances canceled, artists have been left relying on online sources of income. To help out, streaming giant Spotify created the Covid-19 Music Relief project, an effort to amplify the work of musical organizations around the world and their efforts to support artists; it is offering to match donations made by users, up to $10m. Indie music e-commerce platform Bandcamp, meanwhile, has staged a series of no-fee days, waiving its own profits in order to funnel sales towards the artists that use its site to make ends meet.
But online initiatives will not make up for the pausing of an entire artistic economy. And for every live events company bringing back large scale outdoor events, there’s a dozen small venues that have been brought down by the body blow of lockdown. The industry’s grassroots may be artistically fertile, but it’s a world of plectrum-thin margins.
Few venues possessed the kind of safety net required to survive months of inactivity, as evidenced by the fates of Manchester’s Deaf Institute and Gorilla – beloved venues and key stops on the alternative touring circuit for UK and international acts – which were saved from closure by the intervention of mayor Andy Burnham.
In the US, 90% of independent music venues expect to shut down within months if they don’t receive federal aid, according to the National Independent Venues Association. Democratic senator Chuck Schumer even co-sponsored a bill that proposes to funnel $10bn into venues across America.
Collaboration and marketing nous might provide a means of support. In Edinburgh, Scotland, the International Festival staged ‘My Light Shines On’, a celebration of the venues closed during lockdown.
From 8-10 August 2020, the city’s venues turned their spotlights back on in a reference to the ‘ghost light’ traditionally left on in theaters. The project was accompanied by a one-hour film and aimed to remind tourists and locals of their love for these dormant arenas.
Musicians and fans have historically looked upon brand marketing with suspicion. But for talent management company ATC, there are ways to work with brands and dodge accusations of selling out. Could such partnerships provide a crucial source of revenue?
“When we work with a brand, we bring the artist to the table as soon as we can, to let them know what’s expected from the brand and to get their input as early as possible,” says ATC head of brand partnerships Gary Cohen. He points to partnerships such as the one between grime superstar Stormzy and jeans brand Levi’s, noting the match-up worked because it spoke to the social values of both parties.
One artist willing to embrace brand partnerships is platinum-selling singer Katie Melua. With fans more aware of the difficulty of making a living as a modern musician, she tells us that attitudes have become more receptive.
“There used to be an old-school attitude – very black and white – that said if an artist teamed up with a brand then they were selling out. But now there are more nuanced ways of doing it. Those conversations can happen without that awkwardness.“
Virgin Money – a brand that, after all, traces its roots back to the music industry – began major sponsorship deals with the O2 Arena in London and Glasgow’s SSE Hydro in February last year, weeks before the UK’s first lockdown measures kicked in. According to the brand’s head of consumer communications, Louise Hodges, it plans to continue supporting the venues. “When those venues reopen, we hope to create some amazing spaces for our customers to come and enjoy music in those venues,“ she says.
“We’re looking into unusual things like rock star experiences or giving people the chance to play on the stage on nights when the venue is empty. We’re also going to be supporting and investing in musical talent in the UK.”
Some venues are trying out new roles while nightlife events are off the cards. Berlin’s bacchanalian nightclub Berghain tentatively re-opened as an art gallery, featuring work by Wolfgang Tillmans, Tacita Dean and Olafur Eliasson among others.
The exhibition allowed the venue to take in some revenue and reassert its role as a pillar of Germany’s artistic community. Were such initiatives embraced by other venues, the surface area available for branded collaborations could increase.
A more involved model for brands has been adopted by the Notting Hill Carnival, one of the UK’s biggest and most boisterous celebrations of music and culture. While the festival was taken off the streets for 2020 amid the pandemic, it instead organized a virtual edition supported by partners including Spotify and Getty.
Sulinna Ong, head of music at Spotify UK and Ireland, says: “Notting Hill Carnival is such an important celebration of Caribbean heritage for communities in London and beyond, enriched in tradition and activism and lived through music and dance. While it can’t take place in its usual way, it’s key that the celebration continues – in homes, living rooms and gardens – especially given the current climate.
“It made perfect sense for Spotify to partner with Notting Hill Carnival to bring the party from the streets to online, so that people can enjoy Carnival from home this year.”
Getty, meanwhile, is making its owned imagery of the spectacular Carnival free of charge to the organizers, and will showcase the best images on its own global platform to promote the event. In the long-term, Getty is working with Carnival Village Trust, the parent organization of the Carnival, to pioneer an education project for amateur photographers called ‘The Photography Project’; photographers that sign up will be trained over the year and will shoot next year’s carnival as official Getty contributors.
When the pandemic subsides, the music business will, without a doubt, be a tougher place to make a living in. And with business models in flux and livelihoods on the line, advertisers may find a more willing pool of partners than ever before.
