🦠 Wuhan's punk scene; The global music industry will decline in 2020; Post-Covid-19 opportunities for the sync sector; Concerts returning & the case of classical music; Pride parties stay vigilant
Daily update for the music business on the coronavirus (June 4)
The global music industry will decline in 2020 (Music Industry Blog)
In order to forecast recessionary impact on music revenues MIDiA broke down all of music’s sub-industries (recorded, publishing, live, merch, sponsorship) and all relevant sub categories (streaming, sync etc.), and then divided these into the financial quarters of the year. We then modelled the impact of lockdown, longer-term social-distancing measures and the recession on each of these quarters. We then put this model through bear, mid and bull cases. The sum totals are what you see in the chart above. In all cases, the Q2 decimation of live revenue and the subsequent slow clawback in the remainder of 2020 account for the majority of the decline.
Can Wuhan’s punk scene survive the coronavirus? (The Diplomat)
SMZB frontman Wu Wei tries to offer a more nuanced take. He feels that live streaming may be the only option, for now, for both bands and fans. It should come as no surprise, however, that the idea of striving for e-pay “gifts” from emoji-fixated viewers doesn’t seem very “punk rock” to a hardcore, 23-years-and-counting veteran like him. He says: “It doesn’t matter much to me, and I wouldn’t really fit its mood.”
Post-Covid-19 opportunities for the sync sector (Synchblog)
As the world gradually starts opening up again, here are some of the key areas that are worth the attention of the sync sector: live streamed performances; independent artists; nostalgic catalogue; SVOD’s acceleration; the return of sports; interactive synchronisation.
DJ livestreams are under attack just when we need music the most (The Undefeated)
DJs don’t own the rights to the songs they play, and Facebook, which owns Instagram, is telling them to obtain legal clearances that have always been provided by clubs, radio stations and other performance venues. Instead of encouraging DJs to bring quarantined audiences to Facebook’s venues, Facebook is labeling DJs as copyright thieves and cutting off their performances midsong.
Concerts returning
There’s so much happening in the concerts space right now that I’ll try and bring it together a little bit. The short version is that some things are opening up while others are looking at long-term closures. I’ll summarize this more generally and then give a case study on classical music.
There seems to be bits of good news every day: Ibiza will allow tourists again from 1 July allowing their party-business to perhaps have a summer; Live Nation Finland is putting on a series of outdoor shows this month, with only local artists, since the government allows events of up to 500 people; starting in July Polish promotor Follow the Step is putting on an outdoor concert series of max 150 people, and again the line-up will be all local artists; in Denmark the first live-audience gig will take place on 26 June with 500 people at an 1800 capacity venue. This list goes on and on. It provides welcome relief from endless cancellations and postponements, and gives a good boost to local artists. At the same time, it feels a little off. I think that comes from a certain expectancy level. What do you want from a concert? Just live music, or also the ‘closeness’ - both literally and emotionally - with other people? Will an event where you have your own 2 square meters work? And what about the difference in genres? What can we bring from what we’ve learned from livestreaming (i.e. intimitate, interactive, and immersive works best)?
Let’s look at classical music and see where that wringing feeling comes from. This week, the Metropolitan Opera announced it will remain closed until 31 December this year. This puts the company in a financially incredibly precarious situation. The reason for the cancellations isn’t so much about the audiences, but about the performers. They cannot practice together, and it’s not doable to put the orchestra in the pit or the massive choirs on stage. At the same time, there’s that hope coming from orchestras and venues opening up adhering to strict social-distancing guidelines. But will they be able to make that work financially?
Perhaps that’s where the wringing sits, and its twofold:
We shouldn’t be looking at a gig or a concert like we knew it only a few months ago and try to fit that into social-distancing guidelines. As an audience we need something that will help us live through that social distancing. And as a concert promotor that’s where you can differentiate.
How to make it work financially? Venues opening up at a third of capacity won’t be sustainable for long. Outside concert series are dependent on good weather and won’t last until winter in the northern hemisphere for example. It might be good for local artists to perform locally, but they will soon need the touring income to come back.
Pride parties stay vigilant
There’s a concerted and organised effort to disrupt many pride activities this month from the alt-right. Vice has an insightful article into the level of organisation behind this. It’s directed to convince brands to cut their ties with the LGBTQ+ community. There’s a lot of expletives I can use here, but it’s more important to focus on what we can do and that’s to stay vigilant, keep organising, and if you notice anything resembling an attack notify organisers or authorities.
Music
Composed while listening to the excellent new record Spider Tales by Jake Blount. He connects the black roots of American folk music and his fingerpicking banjo is a joy to listen to.
MUSIC x CORONA goes out every weekday and is composed by Bas Grasmayer and Maarten Walraven.
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