Live music stages a comeback

“The wait has been so long and it’s just the biggest build-up we’ve ever had,” said Emily Eavis, co-coordinator of the UK’s Glastonbury festival, as she welcomed back the first attendees in June. “Everybody is feeling very, very happy and a little bit emotional about opening the gates.”

Eavis was talking to the BBC about the opening of the largest greenfield festival [1] of music and performing arts in the world, after two years of Covid-enforced closures, but she could have been talking about the emotional floodgates that accompanied such a joyous moment, not only at Glastonbury but at concerts and festivals around the world.

Dušan Kovačević, founder of the Exit festival in Serbia, recently told the live entertainment platform IQ [2] that the challenges posed by inflation and the Ukraine invasion were “another blow we’ve had to suffer after everything we’ve been through in recent years,” but he added: “The pandemic also had its positive side, showing that going to festivals is not only a form of entertainment but also a way of life without which new generations cannot imagine growing up.”

The Covid lockdowns of 2020 and subsequent restrictions on gatherings had a devastating effect on the creative economy. Losses to the live events industry totaled more than $30bn [3], according to music industry trade publication Pollstar, including ancillary revenues such as merchandise, sponsorship and hospitality. Even after certain restrictions were eased in 2021, the pandemic left its mark on human behavior, with 84% of people [4] saying they were spending more time on online entertainment at home than on in-person entertainment outside it.

“But this year, the industry is singing a very different tune,” says Michael Furtschegger, Global Head of Entertainment at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). “Music lovers have returned to the thrill of the collective experience with seemingly more passion than before. Some smaller festivals have struggled because of rising costs, with the cost-of-living crisis hitting their ticket sales, but we’re seeing good demand from the spectator side, with most of the big-name festivals sold out and a lot of tours back on – although there have been some high-profile no-shows and postponements because of Covid. Looking further ahead, no one knows yet what Covid-related restrictions might be needed in the autumn and winter, but for the moment there’s real hunger from fans for live events, and larger promoters are recording record numbers.”

Such a positive summer season is grounds for optimism, but the risk landscape of live entertainment is changing in line with world events, and organizers have a number of headwinds and emerging perils to be aware of.

High demand is something to celebrate, but it could lead to pressures on popular venues, says Furtschegger. “The industry is innovative, and in recent years, we’ve seen successful events staged in exciting repurposed spaces such as the old Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, or The Vaults, a maze of tunnels beneath Waterloo Station in London. A lot of new festivals are popping up. Organizers of established festivals like Coachella in the US, Tomorrowland in Belgium, or Rock am Ring in Germany will be relatively familiar with their venues’ risks, but any new and untested venues require different risk assessments.”

As with many other industries, the entertainment sector is facing staffing challenges. Almost 70% of companies surveyed at the end of 2021 reported a skills shortage, according to the UK’s Professional Light And Sound Organisation (PLASA), with onsite workers such as engineers, technicians and riggers the most cited [5].

“Staff shortages can become a particularly acute problem if it’s a lack of security personnel,” says Furtschegger. “In some cases, it could mean the authorities won’t allow an event to go ahead. In terms of other safety-critical roles, organizers need to ensure they run proper vetting of suppliers and contractors to allow for the professional execution of the event.”

As well as shortages of staff, a scarcity of resources could potentially be a problem for the sector. “If more shows are staged, and you have productions in parallel, there will be a higher demand on touring equipment, which is often hired from rental houses with limited resources. It requires thorough planning and ideally a back-up plan for sourcing equipment.

“The same goes for repairs and spare parts. The global semiconductor shortage has eased for the moment, but if other component shortages occur or restrictions are imposed on the movement of cargos in and out of ports because of Covid or the war in Ukraine, organizers will need to know what the trigger is in their insurance for delay in start-up. They might need to build in longer planning times and more contingencies within that.”

Despite facing some undeniable macro challenges, it looks like the live music sector could be poised for the “roaring era” of concerts and other live events that Michael Rapino, CEO of the global entertainment company Live Nation, foresaw a year ago for 2022 and 2023. On August 4, his predictions seemed to be borne out in the company’s second quarter results – the company had already sold 100mn concert tickets [6] for 2022, exceeding the full count for 2019, with concert bookings up over 30% for all venue types.

Furtschegger adds: “We can only be positive about the way ahead, mindful of the risks and constraints we face. I’m confident the entertainment live events sector will continue to flourish in the same way it has this summer. I believe its resourcefulness, creativity and energy will drive it forward to a bright future.”