June 6, 2022
SEVENTEEN (세븐틴) is a 13 member Korean boy band under Pledis Entertainment. They are split into 3 teams, the Hip Hop unit (S.coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon), the Vocal unit (Jeonghan, Joshua, Woozi...
Read moreJune 3, 2022
On May 20, Harry Styles released his new album Harry’s House, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. This is his third studio album in which all thirteen songs are in the top 30...
Read moreMay 26, 2022
The Song House is a songwriter house in Nashville, Tennessee where all levels of writers and artists come together to develop music. Every week, 12-15 songwriters are challenged to write a hook in...
Read moreMay 27, 2022
It’s been one year since the young pop-star, Olivia Rodrigo, released her first music album “Sour”. Since her debut, Olivia Rodrigo has won 3 Grammy Awards and named Women of the Year in 2022.
Read moreMarch 31, 2022
After a cancelled performance at the Asuncionico festival in Paraguay Doja cat received backlash from fans claiming the singer neglected them outside of her hotel. After the many complaints from...
Read moreApril 11, 2022
After a long 4 year’s K-pop group Big Bang makes a comeback to the music scene with the song “Still Life.” This song has become another banger from the group reminding fans of the music they once...
Read moreApril 6, 2022
The first theatre production highlighting the global takeover of the K-Pop industry will be making its Broadway debut later this year, with its opening night scheduled for November 20, while...
Read moreApril 6, 2022
Over the past month, singer Ed Sheeran has been battling a copyright trial, accusing him of plagiarizing his 2017 hit song, “Shape of You” the song’s resemblance to their song, “Oh Why” Sami Chokri...
Read moreApril 5, 2022
If you’ve been on social media for the past few months, odds are you’ve probably heard of the iconic viral hit, “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic on just about every corner of the internet.
Read moreApril 2, 2022
Debut: April 2022 After having competed on the reality survival show, “My Teenage Girl”, the seven-member group CLASS:y was formed, signing a seven-year contract with label, M25. The group was...
Read moreApril 1, 2022
Queendom returned for its long awaited second season (hosted by Girls Generation’s Tayeon) and here’s all you need to know: Queendom is a South Korean reality-survival show in which six girl groups...
Read moreApril 7, 2022
Bobby Shmurda has finally been released from his deal with Epic Records following his own plea for his release on social media stating, “I did six years in jail trying to get off this label before...
Read morePhoto: Spencer Davis / Unsplash
For the last two years, there has been something missing in the lives of music lovers around the world—live music. The advent of a global pandemic meant the absence of concerts, festivals, and all other manners of live performances, which previously accounted for over 50% of music industry revenue worldwide.
Now, in the current—and hopefully post-pandemic—reality, the industry faces a new question. Will live music return to the way it once was, or has the pandemic changed it in some tangible way?
On the surface, it seems like concerts have bounced back as big names in music resume their long-awaited tours in larger venues.
“Live music is back and bigger than ever,” Michael Hann wrote for the Guardian back in February 2022, but the industry remains “horribly uncertain.” Restrictions have left some artists and show crew members expressing frustration with the concert experience.
Matt Cox, a keyboard technician interviewed in the aforementioned Guardian article, says that “there’s a more corporate feel to [concerts] now, with so many rules and regulations. It’s taken some of the gloss off it, made it a bit more nine to five.”
For other crew members, the unpredictability directly impacts their livelihoods—the persistent possibility of tour cancellations means constantly looking for back-up plans to counteract income instability.
The same goes for live music venues, which were hit particularly hard by COVID-19 regulations. Even before the pandemic, the live music venue sector was already facing tight profit margins. In some cases, venues did not survive the loss of income associated with pandemic restrictions; in cases they did, staffing shortages and rising costs have contributed to a variety of challenges, from delays to poor experience.
Audiences have also noticed some changes. In a video posted last month, YouTube creator Nicole Rafiee discussed why recent concerts have felt unpleasant, and users of the platform have cited a number of different reasons, including a “pandemic maturity gap” or lack of “concert etiquette” between pre- and post-pandemic audiences.
If this is making the live music landscape feel somewhat bleak, know that it isn’t all bad news.
While the pandemic has been particularly difficult on new artists looking for platforms and opportunities, a desire among audiences for more intimate venues and interactive live music experiences might prove to be a factor driving them towards smaller, local shows by up-and-coming artists.
“The silver lining of the pandemic is people kind of realize how much they miss this, this community that we’ve called live music and how much it means to them and their lives,” said Mo Tarmohamed, owner of a small music venue, in an interview with BCIT News. With the support of the community, the industry is slowly but surely bouncing back.