Thousands of small businesses shut down permanently, as thousands of journalists and millions of service industry employees lose their jobs due to coronavirus lockdowns. The entertainment industry, especially related to music, is likewise affected. Practically all events, concerts, and conferences are canceled.
We have yet to collide with the full brunt of the economic derailment, but experts warn that the governmental response to COVID-19 will cost the entertainment industry at least $12 billion.
Even if all lockdowns across the world are lifted at the very moment you are reading this, it will take years to get back to normalcy, which may never come if we are to encounter more novel viruses in the future. As one effect leads to another one, we also see the closure of many venues, pubs, cafes, and clubs.
These establishments represented critical income sources for many musicians, college students, and entertainers. Even global concert promoters with deep pockets, the likes of Live Nation, AEG, and Evenko stand to lose this summer’s entire concert season.
To add salt to injury, all of that economic devastation occurred because of the government’s reaction to seasonal flu, no deadlier than average. Yes, you read that correctly.
All data, from random antibody studies in California to states and countries (Sweden) that never instituted lockdowns, clearly point to COVID-19 having fatality in the same range as many previous seasonal flues – between 0.1% and 0.3%.
It means that many Western nations wrecked their economies for nothing, crippling countless students in their ability to find work and repay their student debt. At the current date, it is difficult to say if the governments acted so out of sheer panic, deceit, or incompetency.
We must let a competent aussieessaywriter Australia versed in both politics and medicine to clarify all the factors that led to this self-induced calamity, leaving many students and post-graduates musicians bereft of financial options to repay their crippling debt. For the time being, we can only ask ourselves, is it possible to recover from such economic carnage promptly?
In the first wave of panic from the economic downturn cascade, we already see millions of jobs lost. As the purchasing power of dozens of millions of people significantly degrades, so do the core business plans across the board.
For the music and entertainment sector, it means that anyone deemed non-essential will likely find themselves jobless. In the coming months, you can expect more event cancellations, more wage-cuts, more mass layoffs in all companies facilitating musical concerts and live events, which the government lockdowns have utterly destroyed.
College to Music Industry Pipeline
Shortsighted employers react predictably to the crisis by simply ditching employees, especially young ones, with no familial obligations such as college graduates. However, before severing that pipeline of talent from college to the entertainment and music industry, it bears keeping in mind that such a decision may be more harmful in the long-run.
Although massive layoffs represent tragedies for all the individuals involved, it would be even worse if entertainment and music companies were to close permanently. After all, it takes time to rebuild all the organization and infrastructure than to simply upscale the business from scratch once the worst is over.
Therefore, managers in the entertainment industry should take care to preserve creative performers, fresh out of college, and eager to continue their hands-on education. In short, the ones responsible for keeping the core company’s business model afloat.
Entertainment industry insiders are well aware that it takes talent to conduct events engagingly and regularly. Although such talents are temporarily paralyzed from performing, it would further exacerbate the situation if managers fired such employees as well.
Moreover, companies should establish a clear line of communication with their customer base, so they know they can rely on their best performers when the crisis is over. For example, Cirque du Soleil, which canceled 44 shows this year across the globe, recently launched CirqueConnect – a home-based experience of Cirque du Soleil via exercise, music, makeup tutorials, VR, and other entertainment meant to compensate for the canceled live experience.
Likewise, Theatre Unleashed, located in Los Angeles, is starting to utilize the Zoom app for its cast readings. Online platforming has also become a choice of the necessity for the Centre for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.
Individual artists like Keith Urban and Neil Young have taken to Instagram to reach their audiences. As you can see, both performers and companies alike have realized that it is critical to not be out of sight for too long. Human habits are fickle beasts, in constant need of maintenance.
Speaking of human habits, prolonged lockdowns, and social distancing have created a new situation for businesses, a new level of uncertainty. Nobody can say with confidence if people go back to normal, or rely more on online platforms as virtual havens of convenience, affordability, and elevated security. In the meantime, this self-induced economic crisis requires greater pooling of resources and cooperation between suppliers, clients, employees, and even competitor event companies.