FEATURE:
With the Summer Looming…
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The Coronavirus and How It Will Affect Live Performance
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THERE is a lot of doubt…
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as to how the coronavirus will spread and what impact it will have on the music industry. Of course, some nations are affected worse than others, and it will be a while before the disease is contained and things can return to normal. I have seen some gigs in the U.K. cancelled (near areas where people have tested positive) but, so far, it seems like Glastonbury is going ahead – as this article from The Guardian explains:
“The London book fair, which was scheduled to run from 10-12 March, has been one of the highest-profile cancellations, but organisers of other mass participation events taking place in the spring and early summer are ploughing on with their plans.
Glastonbury takes place in 16 weeks’ time, with Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Diana Ross as headline acts and more than 200,000 people expected to attend. Organisers said they were working closely with all the relevant agencies: “We continue to plan and prepare for the event, while at the same time closely monitoring developments with the coronavirus situation”.
It must be a tense time for music fans, as we do not know how far the disease will spread and whether it will impact summer festivals nearer the time. At the moment, only a very small number have people have contracted coronavirus, so I think it is a case of hoping for the best. There is a worry that festivals and gig organisers might err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting the public.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Janner/Associated Press
I think festivals closer to big cities will be more vulnerable, as there will be more tourists and those from overseas attending. It is hard to protect those festivals and gigs already announced, but one of America’s biggest annual festivals has been struck:
“Following South by Southwest’s announcement on Friday that the annual conference will not be held this year due to concerns over the coronavirus, artists and other members of the music industry say they’re losing critical professional opportunities and financial investments.
SXSW was scheduled to start next weekend and run March 13-22, but was canceled following a press conference where Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster. This is the first time SXSW's 34-year history that the entire event has been cancelled.
For emerging artists in particular, SXSW provides a significant platform for fan and industry exposure alongside networking opportunities with members of the music business whom they may not otherwise encounter. Many of the artists, managers and publicists with whom Billboard spoke say that their tours, album releases and marketing campaigns were designed around the conference, which last year drew close to 160,000 attendees.
“We picked March to put out our record because we were gonna go to SXSW,” says Sean Solomon, singer-guitarist for L.A. post-punk band Moaning, who were scheduled to play more than a dozen shows at the festival. “Every time we played past years, we were able to reach as many people as we would touring for a whole month, because you’re playing three or four shows a day.”
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Solomon continues, "Had I known I wasn't gonna be there I would've tried to get work in L.A. We still operate as an indie band, we're not raking in a ton of money. We all have jobs. Now I don't have anything lined up."
It is hard for those acts who were due to play SXSW this year. I wonder whether there will be smaller gigs organised around the world that includes the artists booked for SXSW. Maybe some of the smaller acts who rely on the exposure of SXSW will be able to band together and perform. In any case, there will be eyes trained the way of festivals here like Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. As I say, there have been no announcements regarding cancellations, but we are hearing of more cases of the coronavirus, so I am not sure. It is a shame for the ticket holders, but the biggest loss is for the artists themselves. So many hungry and promising artists were due to attend SXSW, and it would have been a massive opportunity. I hope there are contingency plans should a major festival like Glastonbury have to be scaled-back or cancelled. Whilst it would be rash to cancel any big festival here without just cause, there does need to be some sort of guarantee for artists playing festivals. I know organisers are not to blame when they have to cancel, but it is gutting if you have to lose out on this big festival/gig appearance.
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This article explains what has been cancelled or postponed, and I wonder whether SXSW could have been reorganised or held somewhere else – maybe it is a bit too close to the day to do that. I think other festivals should offer a rescheduled date(s) if the worse comes to the worse, but let’s hope things will be alright. I feel sorry for artists who have been building to a big festival, and they have found the thing cancelled. Smaller venues have less to lose – and artists cancelled can book at another venue – but live music around the world is being affected. Some fans would argue that, in the case of SXSW, they would have risked things, and it is a bit premature cancelling an entire festival when measures could have been taken to isolate those with coronavirus from the rest of the punters. It is tricky to see whether, in the U.K. at least, there will be a big rise in cases, and when we might see the last of it. Every sector is being impacted at the moment, but there is something heartbreaking when an artist is not able to perform and fans are unable to see them. Every music fan hopes that, in this current climate, our summer festivals…
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WILL be alright.