Covid pandemic – once in a generation?
Just a few short years ago a global pandemic would have seemed to be something which could only happen in a Stephen King novel, or in science fiction – The Stand, or 28 Days perhaps. The ‘Spanish Flu’ epidemic of 1918/20 notwithstanding, the thought of a virus today bringing the world to a halt, resulting in the deaths of millions of people would have seemed incomprehensible, but the warning signs were already there…
There were some near misses, most recently SARS in 2002 and Avian Flu in 2013, but the effects of these outbreaks were relatively contained, and anyone warning of a global pandemic was largely seen as a conspiracy theorist or worse.
The smart money now is on another pandemic happening sooner, rather than later. Covid is not expected to be a once in a generation occurrence, but, and it is a very BIG but – no-one can predict when or how it is likely to occur, although some studies suggest that there is a 30% chance that another pandemic will hit within the next 10 years. This shouldn’t be taken that we have 10 years to prepare ourselves for the next one as it could occur at any time – in 2024 alone, although not widely reported, there have been outbreaks which could quite easily have escalated very quickly, particularly one outbreak of Avian Flu. Fortunately these were controlled.
The live entertainment business fell off a cliff for a period of time, and it is great testament to all of the people in that industry that the business has recovered incredibly well – pre-Covid annual global live music revenues were $28.56 billion, in 2023 revenues were $28.86 billion, with 2024 expected to be even stronger.
As a direct result of the pandemic, insurance losses are estimated to be $44 billion, which makes the pandemic the third largest insurance loss ever, after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Total losses, including uninsured, are calculated to be in the $trillions. It will come as no surprise that insurance companies, realising the sheer magnitude of their losses, retreated to lick their wounds, then applied huge rate hikes, and exclusions to coverage for almost anything Covid-related.
“If an insurance policy provides cover for the non-appearance of an artist due to illness, why should Covid continue to be excluded?”
Non-Appearance insurance and Event Cancellation insurance are essential for savvy promoters, managers, artists and almost every business involved in the staging of live events. So much investment, or potential revenue could be riding on a tour, or even one show – the values can be staggering – the Taylor Swift tour grossed over $1 billion. But since Covid, everyone has had to accept that insurance for this risk – the one that got up and punched the industry on the nose so badly that for some, it was a knock out blow – is one that they have to shoulder themselves. Should insurers now be doing more to offer protection for this?
Well, yes actually, and there are some extremely innovative solutions available now using parametrics, but these solutions really offer balance sheet protection for major corporations rather than for a show or a tour, and the cost is serious – minimum premiums are at least $100k, if not more.
Covid is now part of our lives – most of us consider it to be akin to flu, and if an insurance policy provides cover for the non-appearance of an artist due to illness, why should Covid continue to be excluded?
We’re making headway. Some of the insurers we work with have agreed tentatively to offer cover when an artist cancels a show because they’re suffering from Covid, but there are limitations – the number of shows which can be affected is limited, as is the monetary amount.
It’s not a total solution – that is a very long way off, but it’s a step forward, and every step forward is a step in the right direction for the industry.
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Metallica’s Covid insurance lawsuit rejected
California’s court of appeals has dismissed Metallica’s lawsuit demanding more than $3 million (€2.75m) in losses for concerts cancelled due to the pandemic.
The band sued Lloyd’s of London over six axed South American dates in 2020, saying they had acquired a standard cancellation, abandonment and non-appearance insurance policy to cover their losses if any of the tour was postponed or cancelled.
But Justice Maria Stratton ruled the shows were not covered by Metallica’s insurance policy because of an exclusion in the contract for any losses stemming from “communicable diseases”, reports Billboard.
The group had argued the case should have gone to trial, as a jury could have decided the gigs were cancelled for non-Covid reasons. But Stratton, who bizarrely quoted Taylor Swift in her ruling, said it was “absurd to think that government closures were not the result of Covid-19″.
“To paraphrase Taylor Swift, ‘We were there. We remember it all too well’”
“To paraphrase Taylor Swift, ‘We were there. We remember it all too well,’” she wrote. “There was no vaccine against Covid-19 in March 2020 and no drugs to treat it. Ventilators were in short supply. N-95 masks were all but non-existent. Patients were being treated in tents in hospital parking lots.
“The mortality rate of Covid-19 was unknown, but to give just one example of the potential fatality rate, by late March, 2020, New York City was using refrigerated trucks as temporary morgues. People were terrified.”
Lloyd’s has not commented on the lawsuit, except to point out that it is not an insurance company, but rather oversees and regulates a market of independent insurers.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by Live Nation in 2021 against insurer Factory Mutual for failing to cover its “unprecedented” losses as a result of the concert business shutdown, is still pending.
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Kiss sued over death of guitar tech
The family of a long-serving Kiss guitar tech who died after contracting Covid-19 while on tour have launched a lawsuit against the band, alleging negligence and wrongful death.
Francis Stueber, 53, who had worked with the group for more than two decades, passed away in hospital in October 2021 after being quarantined in a hotel room in Detroit, US for two days.
The lawsuit names Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, their manager Doc McGhee, promoter Live Nation and hotel chain Marriott International as defendants, according to documents seen by Rolling Stone.
“The failure to enforce or have adequate Covid-19 policies or procedures caused a Covid-19 outbreak amongst band members and tour personnel,” claims the suit.
“As a direct and proximate result of the dangerous condition created by defendants, decedent suffered fatal injuries and plaintiffs suffered damages.
“Defendants… breached their duty to plaintiffs by their negligent production, operation, inspection, supervision, management and control”
“Defendants… breached their duty to plaintiffs by their negligent production, operation, inspection, supervision, management and control over The End of the Road Tour that ultimately resulted in the death of decedent.”
The band, Live Nation and Marriott are yet to respond publicly to the lawsuit.
Speaking to RS at the time, three crew members alleged The End of the World Tour’s Covid-safe measures were insufficient. “Every day during the shows, we weren’t tested,” claimed one roadie. “It’s horrible that Fran passed, and it’s horrible if this is our protocol just for us to tour.”
Kiss, who said they were “profoundly heartbroken” by Stueber’s death, issued a statement denying the claims, insisting their safety protocols “met, but most often exceeded, federal, state, and local guidelines”.
“Ultimately this is still a global pandemic and there is simply no foolproof way to tour without some element of risk,” the statement added. “If certain crew chose to go out to dinner on a day off, or have beers at a local bar after the show, and did so without a mask or without following protocols, there is little that anyone can do to stop that. Particularly when many of our tour markets did not have any state or local mask mandates in place.”
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Report questions Covid payouts to stars
A raft of major artists including Post Malone, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown received some $200 million in payouts from a government-backed scheme intended to provide “emergency assistance” to US live entertainment businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In December 2020, the US Congress passed the Save Our Stages bill to provide around US$15bn in Small Business Administration grants to independent music venues, museums, booking agencies, movie theatres and other institutions.
However, a new report from Insider revealed that a number of world-renowned artists – some of whom are not from the US – were awarded grants of up to $10m while, reportedly, the maximum relief money many venue owners received was $100,000.
Artists that reportedly benefited from the grants include Chris Brown ($10m), Steve Aoki ($9.9m), Lil Wayne ($8.9m), The Smashing Pumpkins ($8.6m), Vampire Weekend ($8.3m), Korn ($5.3m), Melissa Etheridge ($3.9m), Usher ($3.1m), Common ($2.8m), Portugal. The Man ($2.25m), Becky G ($2.2m), Leann Rimes ($2m), Nickelback ($2m), Father John Misty ($1.7m) and Slipknot ($1m) for their music festival, Knotfest.
The report notes that many of these artists own or may have owned businesses or corporations that could qualify for such grants, such as Aoki’s corporation, DJ Kid Millionaire Touring Inc., which reported four full-time employees on its application for a $71,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
Industry sources contacted by Insider defended the programme, pointing out that many artists typically contract with hundreds of sound and lighting technicians, costumers, drivers, security personnel, and other freelancers when they put together a tour. All those contractors were out of work during the lockdowns, the sources said, and artists applying for grants could have used the money to help keep them afloat. But there was no requirement that they spend the money that way.
An anonymous live music professional close to the programme told IQ, “Unlike the PPP, you do have to attribute costs to a specific cause, so [successful grant applications] have to show that the money was spent in accordance with the grant.”
A number of world-renowned artists – some of whom are not from the US – were awarded grants of up to $10m
The programme’s oversight of contractors was addressed by behemoths of the live music industry, who formed a coalition to petition the US government to expand the Save Our Stages act to include live event workers.
While it is unclear which artists applied for grants themselves, it may have been done by a third party, as the article notes: “A single financial-management firm in Los Angeles [NKSFB, which represents artists including Post Malone, Chris Brown, Steve Aoki, Marshmello, and Lil Wayne] successfully submitted grants on behalf of 97 artists, venues, and managers, amounting to more than a quarter of a billion dollars in grant payouts.”
The report also notes that two businesses partly owned by veteran manager Irving Azoff, whose firm’s clients include the Eagles, Lizzo, Harry Styles, and Gwen Stefani, together received $17.5m from the programme.
Similarly, venues affiliated with Live Nation, which was specifically stated to be excluded from Save Our Stages, received some $19m in funding from the programme, according to Variety last year, though a rep told Insider that the company has “no ability to control whether its subsidiaries access aid programmes”.
Today’s news comes a year after more than 60 lawsuits were filed against the Small Business Administration by companies who said they were unfairly denied millions in relief.
According to the aggrieved venues, SBA has refused their requests without good reason or a proper explanation, putting particular companies at a huge disadvantage over rivals who have received aid. Attorneys involved in the cases claim that rates of refusal under SVOG “significantly exceed typical government grant programmes.”
A spokesperson for the SBA told Insider: “The programme helped save thousands of entertainment venues and operators across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly half the grant money went to businesses with fewer than five full-time employees, the smallest of small businesses.”
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Japan lifts cheering restrictions on concerts
The Japanese government is relaxing its longstanding ban on cheering at concerts and sporting events after announcing it is to reclassify Covid-19’s disease status.
From 8 May, coronavirus will be downgraded from class Class 2 to Class 5 – the same tier as seasonal flu – in the country, with residents told to use their own judgement when it comes to mitigation measures, including mask-wearing.
“With the change in categorisation, the nation’s Covid-19 measures will change from one where government agencies make various requests (to people and institutions) and intervene, to one that respects the choices of individuals, like in response to seasonal influenza,” says a statement by the infectious disease panel, as per the Japan Times.
“The government will need to make detailed explanations of its basic view and changes to be brought on by the reclassification, and provide necessary information.”
“Some in the audience will probably keep masking up, while others won’t”
Under the current restrictions, which will be lifted immediately, cheering is permitted only at venues where attendance is limited to 50% or less of capacity. Music venues have been able to operate at 100% capacity as long as audience members “wear masks, keep their voices down to conversational levels, and cheer or sing along for less than a quarter of every song”, reports Nikkei Asia.
“Some in the audience will probably keep masking up, while others won’t,” says Masashi Kondo, head of the Live House Commission trade group. “It’s hard to respond unless there are clear standards, so I hope the government will provide an explanation based on science.”
It was revealed last month that concert-goers in Japan could require government-issued ID cards to attend gigs under plans being considered by the government to help combat ticket touting.
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China lifts some Covid restrictions on concerts
Mainland China is set to welcome back artists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – but restrictions remain on international acts will remain.
The Chinese ministry of culture and tourism says provincial departments can resume vetting and approving performance applications by entertainers from the regions from 16 February after the country lifted its “Zero-Covid” policy.
However, the South China Morning Post reports that the curbs will only be relaxed for foreign acts already on the mainland, with the ministry reminding departments to ensure effective pandemic control measures are implemented by event organisers.
Concerts have effectively been halted in China since the onset of Covid-19
Concerts have effectively been halted in China since the onset of Covid-19, with audiences required to abide by rules limiting interaction at the few performances permitted.
The ministry of culture and tourism previously implemented a centralised ticketing system for the country’s live performance sector in 2021.
All domestic ticketing systems for live performances — including music, dance, comedy, and plays — were linked to a national ticketing information management platform with unified standards for sales, distribution, and refunds.
The China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA), an industry body under the ministry that led the creation of the standards, said that their implementation would effectively curb scalpers as well as help monitor ticket sales and analyse the performance industry.
The platform was launched following criticism of some local and national vendors and event operators for setting aside tickets for “speculation and scalping”.
In an effort to curb such practices, the ministry of culture and tourism in 2017 introduced a new measure that required event operators to sell at least 70% of tickets for commercial performances directly to the public.
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‘Financial barriers’ slow Oz market’s recovery
Financial barriers are slowing the post-pandemic recovery of Australia’s live music market, according to a new report.
The Live Attendance Update, conducted in October 2022, gives insights into the changing habits of gig-goers, revealing that money worries has replaced Covid concerns as the main deterrent to attending concerts.
But the long tail of the pandemic still continues to impact attendance, with 44% of audiences reporting they are attending fewer performing events than prior to March 2020, while spending levels have not increased since early 2022.
“Price sensitivity may increase, as financial reasons have now overtaken the virus as the main barrier to attendance,” says the report by research agency Patternmakers. “Financial barriers are now affecting 40% of audiences, up from 24% in August 2022. It’s likely to be a bumpy ride, with factors like re-entry anxiety and lacking energy to go out also impacting decisions.”
“While most audiences are feeling confident and many are optimistic about increasing their attendance in future, new barriers are emerging related to economic factors and lifestyle changes”
On a more encouraging note, 71% of the 5,438 people surveyed said they are “ready to attend [shows] now” – up from 65% in August and 59% in March – the highest percentage since the start of the pandemic. In addition, the data indicates that the shift towards last-minute ticket buying is here to stay.
“Full recovery will take time,” says the study. “While most audiences are feeling confident and many are optimistic about increasing their attendance in future, new barriers are emerging related to economic factors and lifestyle changes.”
Patternmakers suggests that gradual increases in attendances are likely, with half of audiences (51%) saying they expect to attend more often in the next year.
“However, the situation is complex and some are perceiving a lack of appealing events available (32%) or are prioritising other things in their lives at the moment (24%),” it advises.
“Things are slowly improving, and audiences are much more likely to be increasing their attendances than decreasing them over the next year”
Concluding there is reason for “cautious optimism”, the report notes that “gradual improvements in confidence are evident”.
“There’s cause for cautious optimism, and half of audiences said they expect to attend more often in the next year – but another 43% said their behaviours will stay the same,” it says.
“Things are slowly improving, and audiences are much more likely to be increasing their attendances than decreasing them over the next year – though plenty will be maintaining their current levels.”
Covid-19 stripped Australia’s live entertainment industry of AUS$1.4 billion in revenue during 2020, according to Live Performance Australia’s Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report.
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Prodiss report highlights post-Covid gig habits
Almost a third of French music fans say they will attend fewer events going forward after the pandemic, according to the results of live association Prodiss’ latest Live Barometer.
Produced by the Toluna Harris Interactive polling institute, the annual report surveyed 1,010 people aged 15 and over about their concert-going habits.
After two heavily interrupted years due to Covid-19, the results give an opportunity to take stock of the impact of the crisis on event-goers. While 49% of respondents said they will not change their habits, 18% say they would now attend more concerts, whereas the remaining 32% would go to a show less often.
Purchasing power was the overriding concern, with a lack of disposable income given as the main reason by 48%, with the fear of contracting Covid-19 (22%) and a preference for other activities (19%) also cited.
The survey of 1,010 French people was conducted online from 14-15 September 2022
The motivations for going to shows were to hear quality sound (89%), to take their mind off things (88%), to feel emotions and experience something exceptional (87%) , or sharing moments with family or friends (86%). Finally, 58% of live spectators said they would be encouraged to go to the show for interactive experiences or augmented reality.
In addition, 75% of spectators indicate that live events’ commitment to the environment is important to them, with 23% deeming it “very important” and 52% “rather important”. Key areas of concert include good waste management (63%), preservation of the show site (53%), energy savings (47%) and access to less polluting transport (44%).
The survey was conducted online from 14-15 September 2022 and is available in its entirety here. The results were unveiled to coincide with last month’s MaMA Music & Convention Festival.
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German government to help venues with energy bills
Germany’s federal government has announced plans to repurpose the remainder of its €2.5 billion event cancellation fund to help cultural institutions weather the energy crisis.
The decision comes after a government hearing last Wednesday (12 October), in which the country’s live music association BDKV said the industry would not survive the crisis without further financial aid.
Claudia Roth, minister of state for culture, says there is at least €1bn left over from the cancellation fund, which was designed to allow event organisers to plan events without the financial risk posed by a potential Covid outbreak.
Details on how the fund will now be distributed are yet to be announced but Roth says the energy aid should take effect from 1 January 2023, “retrospectively to October”.
In return for the energy fund, the minister expects “that the cultural institutions act in solidarity and do everything they can to save energy”. According to Roth, the target for federally funded facilities is 20% energy savings, which she believes a lot of venues are achieving already.
“We cannot afford it, and we do not want to afford it, for cultural institutions to be closed”
However, BDKV president Jens Michow says it is a major problem for the industry that from 2023 there would no longer be any cover for event cancellations caused by the pandemic.
“[The €2.5 billion government-backed insurance pot] is expected to have remaining funds of €1.5–1.8 billion by the end of the year. We demand that all remaining funds from 2022 remain unrestricted in the economic sector for which they were originally made available,” he said.
Speaking to concerns about fresh Covid restrictions this autumn and winter, Roth said she doesn’t want cultural institutions to have to close. “We cannot afford it, and we do not want to afford it, for cultural institutions to be closed, as was the case in the first two years of the pandemic, because then our democracy will no longer have a voice.”
Last month, IQ heard from a number of European arenas who also said that skyrocketing energy costs are emerging as the sector’s biggest challenge since the Covid-19 pandemic.
AEG-owned Barclays Arena (formerly the Barclaycard Arena) in Hamburg, Germany, was among the venues that reported a “huge” increase in energy costs.
The UK government was the first to address the crisis with its Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will see energy bills for UK businesses cut by around half of their expected level this winter.
The news followed the revelation that some UK live music venues are seeing their energy bills increase by an average of 300% –in some cases as much as 740% – adding tens of thousands of pounds to their running costs.
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Korea to drop mask mandate for outdoor concerts
The South Korean government is set to finally drop its mask mandate for outdoor concerts and other large gatherings following a steady decline in Covid-19 cases.
The move, which could come into effect as soon as this week, reports the Korea Times. Under the current rules, people who do not comply with the regulations at events attended by more than 50 people are subject to a fine.
However, rules on mask-wearing at indoor shows will continue for the time being.
Korea previously eased its coronavirus protocols in the spring when it lifted its ban on clapping and cheering at gigs
Korea previously eased its coronavirus protocols in the spring when it lifted its ban on clapping and cheering at gigs, but retained the indoor and outdoor mask mandate. Fans were handed plastic clappers to emulate crowd noise at BTS’ Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul three-night residency in March, which marked the K-pop group’s in-person concert return in their homeland. Just 15,000 people per night were permitted to attend the 70,000-cap Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul due to social distancing restrictions.
A BTS homecoming concert in Korea planned as part of Busan’s World 2030 Expo bid was recently forced to move venues due to safety concerns. The free BTS Yet to Come in Busan show on 15 October was set to attract up to 100,000 people to a special stage on the site of a former glass factory, but has been switched to the Busan Asiad Main Stadium following complaints the venue was ill-equipped for an event of such scale.
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