Artists, Concert Venues & The Pandemic: Should Venues Wait To Reopen?
Connecting with and supporting creatives are my favorite things to do as a curator and writer. To me, music is a healer: it can change my mood for the better and it understands me when I can’t put my feelings into words. So, when I feel like the music gets me, I try to connect with the artist that created it. Many of my connections with creatives have come from showing love through social media.
I also try to connect to and support creatives by going to their shows and/or buying their merchandise. The last concerts I attended were a Little Brother show and Ill Camille via the Black Girls Rock! Festival a few days prior to the shut down. Funny enough, showing love to Ill Camille gave me the opportunity to not only attend one of Ms. Lauryn Hill’s concerts during BGR! Fest but to meet her. Concerts are my favorite ways to support creatives.
It is difficult now, of course, to support creatives financially because of the pandemic’s crippling effect on the economy, specifically through halting concerts via concert venues. However, according to Rolling Stone, Live Nation is rolling out smaller capacity concerts and events that will have social distancing guidelines. Some of these shows may be drive-in concerts (yes, you read that correctly) during the summer months. It is a good step in the right direction for artists because it is a start to a return to some normalcy and income. I can also appreciate the smaller crowds that will come from it, leading to more intimate concerts.
However, there are more negatives than positives to consider. We have to consider the adaptations to venues that will have to occur. For example, the first social distancing concert to occur via Thomas McCready of Bishop Gunn on May 15 has a long list of changes and rules for the show and venue. Concert goers will have to wear masks, have their temperatures taken before entering the venue, and will have to abide by distancing guidelines. Social distancing guidelines makes this 1,000-plus seated venue only available to less than 230 attendees. (By the way, this concert and venue are breaking an Arkansas COVID-19 order by going through with this event that will only allow events for up to 50 people, starting on May 18. Update: This concert, as of May 14, has been postponed to May 18.) This can be a problem in the future for smaller venues that are independently run due to the costs for these venues to comply to new health guidelines, if they are even able to stay open. Many of them are lobbying Congress for aid and some have begun closing their doors. That’s also if government restrictions are unified amongst state and local jurisdictions. According to a post from Riverfront Times, the state of Missouri, like Arkansas, has lifted some of their concert restrictions, but major cities in the state have not. This makes it difficult for agents to currently book shows.
In reference to costs, these events may be more expensive in order to balance out the months of cancelled events and the smaller crowds that will attend these upcoming shows. The months of loss revenue and the ripple effect of it may lead to skyrocketing prices for shows in the future, which is good for everyone except for the concert goer. For example, when visiting Ticketmaster to purchase tickets for McCready’s concert, you must select more than one seat, which brings the ticket prices up — normal ticket prices are $20 per seat. For artists and their touring team, there’s also touring costs to consider: touring costs in every aspect will most likely be higher.
Finally, with the possibility of higher costs and social distancing guidelines (while still being in the midst of a global pandemic), it’s really uncertain whether a considerable amount of fans will actually show up to a concert venue, specifically indoors, anytime in the near future. Even though people are ready to get out of the house, the concept of social distancing is not normal for a concert space, especially under these extremes. These guidelines will mean no mosh pits, less interaction amongst concert goers, and possibly less energy from the crowds, which are big aspects of the concert experience. There’s a possibility, however, that some concert goers will be happy to just attend an in-person show. But, is the general public ready for social distancing venues and events? We will see as restrictions are lifted.
I, personally, don’t feel comfortable with going to one anytime soon, including the rescheduled shows that I’ve already purchased tickets for. For now, I will enjoy online concerts, battles and conversations from creatives online, which allows me to be safe at home and still interact with fellow viewers via chats and social media. (Here is a recent post on a few that I have enjoyed thus far.) In some cases, artists have linked ways to purchase merchandise and be tipped via CashApp. If it’s not possible for me to do either, then I try to show love by sharing the stream and by engaging in the artist’s livestream. My hope is that creatives and venues are able to find a viable solution to these problems after the pandemic dies down more. In the meantime, I’ll continue to show love to my favorite creatives in the safest ways possible, no matter how much I miss live shows.