In what should come as a surprise to almost no one, live music promoters are ready to throw in the towel for 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
A New York Times article published on Sunday (May 24) spoke with a number of prominent executives, all who are pointing to next summer as the time when they can realistically expect the concert business to get back on track.
Despite local governments allowing steady reopening and for some concerts to take place, the executives appear to be realistic about the situation.
“While we think that phenomenal strides are being made in both cases, given the lead time involved in planning major concert tours, and the uncertainties that exist today, we don’t expect a large volume of major tours in the fall,” Live Nation president Joe Berchtold said.
Additionally, AEG chairman Jay Marciano said that “it doesn’t seem likely we are going to open in the fall.” On the artist side, CAA agent Rich Roskin said that “for the artists we represent, we believe it’s safer to move to 2021.”
As of now, a number of festivals, including Coachella, have been pushed to the fall. There’s been some alternative measures, but if these statements are any indication of what the reality of the situation is, we’re not going to be seeing live, largescale music events any time soon.
