On Saturday, Jan. 9 infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in on the state of the live music industry during a virtual event with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, explaining that live music could find a new normal by the end of 2021.

Fauci noted, “If everything goes right, this is will occur some time in the fall of 2021, so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience… I think you can then start getting back to almost full capacity of seating. We’ll be back in the theaters — performers will be performing, audiences will be enjoying it. It will happen.”

The doctor was also quick to note that masks will be required for some time, even as larger events return. A similar conclusion was reached in Spain, where there’s already been an encouraging experiment studying how COVID-19 is (or isn’t) transmitted at live events.

“I think you can then start getting back to almost full capacity of seating,” Fauci said, reiterating the importance of both good air circulation and mask-wearing.

Read the entire report via The New York Times here.