In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the halt of live music as we know it, promotion and ticketing mammoth Live Nation – which also owns Ticketmaster – is reportedly exploring alternative options such as livestreamed shows without audiences as well as drive-in events.
“Whether it’s in Arkansas or a state that is safe, secure and politically is fine to proceed in, we’re going to dabble in fanless concerts with broadcasts, we’re going to go and do reduced capacity shows because we can make the math work,” Live Nation President/CEO Michael Rapino said on a recent investor earnings call. “There are a lot of great artists that can sell out an arena, but they’ll do 10 higher end smaller theaters or clubs. We’re seeing lots of artists chomping to get back out once it’s safe.”
Since coronavirus has taken the music industry offline, Live Nation stock has experienced a 48% drop, and the company has enacted sweeping salary reductions, furloughs and hiring freezes.
“It’s important for us to keep doing drive-in concerts, which we’re going to test and roll out, which we’re having some success with, fanless concerts which have great broadcasting opportunities, reduced capacity festival concerts, which could be outdoors, could be in a theater, could be in a large stadium floor where there’s enough room to be safe. We have all of these plans in place depending on the market and where that local city may sit in their reopening phases,” Rapino added.
Read the whole report via Rolling Stone here.
11 Comments comments associated with this post
BUZZ OFF
May 9, 2020 at 11:04 amIf there was widespread CV testing, band and crew could put on a show that could be broadcasted , should be able to do that
Fuc$ Ticketmaster & LIve Nation
May 9, 2020 at 1:00 amDevil can’t die soon enough
Buzz
May 8, 2020 at 5:29 pmLive “democrat “ nation. Their headquarters?? Washington DC. That’s all folks!!!!
BUZZ OFF
May 9, 2020 at 10:59 amPlease, now democrats are corpratists? I thought they were socialists? get your story straight
DRock
May 8, 2020 at 4:03 pmAgree… down with Live Nation and Ticketmaster… Break up the monopoly!
phuckdat
May 8, 2020 at 3:07 pmBetween the virus and how the ticket companies have conducted themselves, I’m not going to shows when they start back up. Thats when TM/LN is going to need it the most and exactly when I plan on withholding it from them. I want to go for the death blow.
Stand up and help kill these fuckers off and boycott shows for a few months when they come back. MAKE TM/LN fail. It’s in our hands. Once they collapse, go to shows. Or when artists see people boycotting, hopefully a viable competitor springs up and we can use them. But I can’t stress it enough. As consumers, we can starve TM/LN to death. Let’s do it!!!!
LiveandInPerson
May 8, 2020 at 2:16 pmIt’s the interaction of crowd and fans that make the magic happen. Without that, it’s just a studio recording.
me
May 8, 2020 at 1:39 pmWhile I agree that LN/TM can go fuck themselves and being there is pretty much what it’s all about, I will also say that I’ve set up a large screen/projector and a nice sound system in my backyard for the last 3-5 to watch Phish webcasts and it’s pretty sweet. Bonfire, bathroom, drink of choice, not getting price-gouged, friends nearby, no douchebags nearby, no drive home… not bad! Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from being there but if we have to choose, it’s at least something to do to buy some more time until a vaccine/solution comes along. SAve tons of money, invest in a nice setup and enjoy until we can be there again! The added benefit… LN/TM doesn’t own my venue, so they can be cut out of the equation… maybe it’s time to start an online company that bands can go to for broadcasting!
Samantha
May 26, 2020 at 12:20 pmSome people aren’t fortunate enough to have a big open space with a large projector to enjoy a broadcasted concert. I bet the sound quality is great too. Im sure it makes you feel like as if you’re there somewhat. But some of the population live in small apartments, watch on a 24 inch screen and just don’t have the capacity to house that kind of technology. This is why it’s pointless to watch a broadcasted concert when you just don’t have the real experience or anything close to it like you would have when you’re there enjoying it live. Even the sound quality is completely off. Especially if you have to pay extra or same amount as a concert ticket to see it.
Quick Death to Live Nation
May 8, 2020 at 12:57 pmLive Nation / Ticketmaster can’t go away fast enough for me. Death to the greedy!
Death to Live Nation
May 8, 2020 at 12:36 pmGood luck with that ! A live stream ain’t 5% of the experience of being there live, only a few desperate idiots will pay for a stream.
Die a horrible death you stupid monopoly in disguise that has ruined live music forever in the name of record profits.
Hopefully they go bankrupt and the industry has to start over with competition. . .