Summer is in the air and is the world finally starting to get back to normal? With 50% of all adult Americans vaccinated and seeing Madison Square Garden filled with 15,000 New York Knicks fans for the NBA playoffs, it’s starting the feel like it! My Instagram feed is filled with weddings, travel & concerts again, which gives me a sense of hope and excitement for the events industry this summer and fall. With my fair share of concerts already booked in person, I know not everyone will be comfortable going IRL so how will artists pivot to help please all music lovers equally?
Summer and fall made us feel like the world was back to normal – attending weddings, going to concerts and being with family and friends again. Now with the recent spikes, I know not everyone will be comfortable going IRL to shows and concerts so how will artists and venues pivot to help please attendees equally?
Venues across the world will have to assume that they won’t be filling stadiums and arenas for quite some time, so there is a need to supplement revenue for the venue & artists. It has been announced this past summer that Live Nation Entertainment and artist-first streaming platform Veeps are installing streaming technology in 60+ venues across the US. This will offer a turnkey streaming solution and help support the bottom line. Iconic venues like The Filmore in San Francisco, The Wiltern in LA, and The Gorge in Washington will be the first to adopt this streaming technology. As experiential agencies know, the client wish list for venue searches will evolve with the pandemic coming to an end. Events may be coming back but, looking forward, there will be a need to not only please the IRL audience, but also those who prefer to join virtually. By having venues across the world starting to take the initiative to install streaming technology now, it will not only be increasingly marketable for the venue but make our jobs as event producers much simpler by having those capabilities in-house.
I am hopeful that venues outside these music-specific examples will adapt this mentality for future events. Until then, there are certainly other solutions, including bringing streaming services into spaces that don’t currently have them. If it still feels too early to have a large group gathering, we recommend looking at studio spaces that may have room for smaller audiences. For instance, the DesignScene London Studio has multiple areas available that would be perfect to accommodate a small, in-person audience.
It’s exciting to think that I’ll also be able to experience more music in legendary venues across the US from the comfort and safety of home!
