Keen to get back to your usual weekend routine of seeing your favourite band in concert? Well, Live Nation will soon be testing both drive-in and fan-less concerts so we can get back on track to our normal lives, while still being health conscious.
We’re all so ready for restrictions to ease. Isolation has been beyond boring, and even through there’s been some fantastic livestreams, it pales in comparison to seeing your favourite muso live and in person. Although Denmark has seen drive-in concerts become a thing, while Germany is bringing drive-in raves, now it’s time for the U.S. and potentially Australia to get some live entertainment.
In a call about the company’s first-quarter earnings, CEO Michael Rapino detailed their plan to experiment with drive-in concerts, and also fan-less virtual concerts soon.
“So, over the next six months, we’ll be starting slow and small, focusing on the basics and testing regionally,” he noted. “But, whether it’s in Arkansas or [another] state that is safe, secure, and politically fine to proceed in, we’re going to dabble in fan-less concerts with broadcasts and reduced-capacity shows, because we can make the math work.”
“There are a lot of great artists that can sell out an arena, but they’ll do higher-end theatres or clubs,” instead, he revealed, meaning that any concert would be a bit more exclusive for the viewer, with diminished capacity across the range.
“So you’re gonna see us [gradually reopening] in different countries, whether it’s Finland, Asia, Hong Kong — certain markets are farther ahead [in the recovery process],” Rapino continued.
“Over the summer there will be testing happening, whether it’s fan-less concerts, which offer great broadcast opportunities and are really important for our sponsorship business; drive-in concerts, which we’re going to test and roll out and we’re having some success with; or reduced-capacity festival concerts, which could be outdoors in a theatre on a large stadium floor, where there’s enough room to be safe.”
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“We think in the fall, if there are no second hotspots, you’ll see markets around the world [reopening] — Europe, specifically, has talked about opening up 5000-plus [gatherings] in September,” Rapino ended with.
So, would that be something fans will be keen on? With concerts put to a halt for nearly three months now, any sort of live entertainment via Live Nation should see good sales, we reckon.
