Revenue / 01.05.22

For Fans, Artists and Concert Industry, a Chaotic 2021 Gives Way to a Suddenly Perilous 2022

Access Staff

Los Angeles Times (12/16/21) Brown, August

The live music industry's recovery from the pandemic was waylaid by chaos in 2021, and worry still abounds due to omicron and other uncertainties heading into 2022. The delta variant killed any sense that the pandemic was over, forcing venues to hastily adjust to fast-changing rules and best practices around vaccine mandates, mask policies and flagging public confidence. United Talent Agency's Scott Clayton said the live event business is generally healthy, yet "there is still concern around variants and the number of people who remain unvaccinated." The crowd-surge tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston in November derailed fans, artists and promoters' earlier relief, while the omicron wave could further quash optimism. Positive signs include Pollstar's year-end review showing the global concert industry resurged from $18.9 million in first-quarter gross revenue to $1.34 billion in the fourth quarter. Oak View Group President Ray Waddell said the industry has no stomach for another shutdown after the ordeal of 2020, adding "there is so much work planned that there are very real shortages of gear, labor, transportation and available dates." Fans and artists also remain understandably anxious, with pandemic-surge fears fueling cancellations by headliners and concerns that smaller-scale venues will not see healthy box office returns due to the risk of infection. Former AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips anticipates insurance and security costs increasing for big events, after two years of massive income losses.

Read the full story from the Los Angeles Times. 

Tags: Music , Security , News , COVID-19 , Coronavirus