What usually is the best time of the year for the concert/festival industry and fans who love music has turned into a nightmare. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is killing the industry one festival and show at a time. Over the past two weeks, we have seen the virus rapidly impact and spread across the globe. On March 13th, President Trump along with the World Health Organization declared a national state of emergency in the United States over the Coronavirus pandemic. Since then, entertainment companies like Live Nation and AEG have announced a pause on all tours and arena shows as the outbreak continues. Major music festivals such as Stagecoach, Coachella, and Country to Country Music Festival are just a few that have postponed their dates to later in the year.
The Coronavirus is more at risk of spreading during large gathering of people, in which is all that the entertainment industry is. Several artists have cancelled or postponed their shows just as many tours have just started or were about start. Popular for his summer stadium tours, Kenny Chesney has postponed his first 11 shows. Dan + Shay were already starting off their Spring tour where now they have pushed back their dates until July. Other Countries such as Europe, China, and Italy have completely shut down their borders making international tours for artists immediately stop.
This worldwide pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time for the music industry, as it stands to lose a massive amount of money due to all of the cancellations. Not only are artists suffering from the cancellations, but those who work in the industry and make an income from these live events. Other major postponements and cancellations include SXSW and Ultra Music Festival in which both draw in hundreds of thousands of people. Arenas all over the nation have not only cancelled or postponed upcoming concerts, but have also postponed their sports seasons. Popular, local concert venues are also at risk at losing money due to the virus. Every artist you can think of such as Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Alice Cooper, Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, in which are just a few names out of many who are being affected by the virus as show cancellations and postponements continue.
It will be interesting to see how the Music industry recovers from this hard time when the Coronavirus finally starts to get contained. But for now, we watch closely as the pandemic takes control.
Written by Hannah Schaeffer
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