Uncertain times for the music industry
Concerts likely to go online for 12 to 18 months
IT IS LIKELY that for the next 18 months, live shows, including the Bollywood concerts that were brought to South Africa, will only be enjoyed online.
The POST spoke to promoters Blu Blood Africa and Showtime Promotions which bring live shows and tours from India to Durban, about the outlook for this segment.
Over the years, Blu Blood Africa has brought international artists, like Shreya Ghoshal, Adnan Sami and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to South Africa.
Osman Osman, of Blu Blood Africa, said people feared the pandemic and being in the lockdown.
He said artists in India were not doing paid-for platforms but fundraisers to help sustain their industry and their country.
Osman said they were involved in projects such as the iCare for India drive where they performed in virtual shows from home to help raise funds for those in need.
“No one has actually tapped into the mechanism of a ticketed Bollywood event,” said Osman.
“In India, it is a different ball game. They are interacting with their audiences, but because of the type of population, they are trying to push fund-raisers from these platforms, getting multiple artists and organisations together to raise funds for the less fortunate.
“The unfortunate reality is that for the next 18 months, shows will be something we watch online.”
He said South African comedians were at the forefront of using webinar technology for ticketing and charging nominal amounts and getting audiences to watch their shows live online.
“Obviously, this is not the same feel as a live show, but you are still experiencing the artist.
“Now in India, or when it comes to music shows, you need to figure out how to get all the musicians on one platform on one internet connection from one place. I think it is going to be physically impossible, unless they have a studio.
“We are still waiting to see if that technology exists. A few companies are trying to develop it. I think over the next 12 to 18 months this is something we may have to be accustomed to, seeing them live at a specific time on a TV, laptop, or cellphone.
“That is what the industry is trying to figure out – if this mechanism is going to be successful.”
He said the entertainment industry
We feel live concerts and events will slowly bring people together to look forward to a better understanding of the future. Mike Narsey PROMOTER
in South Africa, over the past year, felt the knock-on effects of the economy in terms of people not having disposable income.
“With Covid-19, the entertainment industry was the first that was globally affected. This will be the last industry to recover. The repercussions are being felt hard.
“People are looking to save their money, looking to pull through the next few months. I don’t see the industry coming back until the end of this year.
“I think fear is going to be the biggest drive even if the shows are going to be socially distanced, a lot of people will choose not to come. But if there is going to be some solution to
Covid-19, people will come out and support.
“That being said, you are not going to get the major acts. Promoters will look at smaller artists and more affordable acts to see if the market will buy tickets.
“There will not be an uptake on expensive tickets. The bottom line is that there is no preventative way around Covid-19. The fear is what is going to stop people from going out.”
Mike Narsey, of Showtime Promotions, an events company that produces local and Bollywood shows, said there was still uncertainty with regard to when live shows would resume, but he was hopeful that audiences would return.
“Being in this industry for more than 35 years, from an actor to a promoter, I have not seen anything like this in my lifetime.
“With all the financial strain caused by Covid-19, going forward, we cannot predict what the entertainment business will be in the coming months.”
He remained hopeful that the live scene would make a comeback.
“After the lockdown, people will want to enjoy the life we were used to. As the saying goes, ‘music is the language of love’.
“We feel live concerts and events will slowly bring people together to look forward to a better understanding of the future. But we cannot predict how long this will take.”
Narsey said there was a growing trend, both locally and globally, of artists connecting with their audiences through live broadcasts on social media.
“A number of artists have been doing live performances and recordings on Facebook. Some of them circulated their recordings on WhatsApp. The possibility of keeping audiences entertained is there but live is always the best.”