Booming concert industry silenced by virus
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INSIDE a warehouse for MooTV, a live video production company in Nashville, Tennessee, the floor-to-ceiling shelves are lined with row after row of video screens, cables and rolling cases that normally would be out on the road with Brad Paisley, Chris Stapleton or Dierks Bentley. At one end of the warehouse sits an empty bar with beer taps where fans once sat on stage with Paisley.
It’s starkly quiet in the warehouse that was once a bustling hive of activity just weeks ago.
“We’ve watched within a few days 100 percent of our calendar clear, which means no income and a lot of mouths to feed,” said Scott Scovill, owner of MooTV.
Live music, concerts, festivals, awards shows and other live entertainment events came to an abrupt halt just weeks ago over concerns of spreading the novel coronavirus. For thousands of live en-tertainment staff who work behind the stages, the world got a lot quieter.
Concerts make up a multibillion-dollar live event industry that has boomed in recent years even as album sales have declined. But that went from highs to un-precedented lows in a matter of days.
Workers who live gig-to-gig supporting musicians, sports, festivals and other live events that draw massive crowds are suddenly faced with months of no income and no clear idea of when gigs might resume. Many of them are free-lance or contract workers, which means they don’t have the support of a business to keep them going during slowdowns or provide health care or medical leave. The concert business is also very seasonal with the number of shows slowing in the winter months, which means that many businesses and workers were financially depending on an uptick in gigs starting in the spring, just as the virus hit.
Kai Griffin is a tour manager, produc-tion manager and sound engineer who has been working for country artist Lor-rie Morgan for seven years, in addition to working with several new and upcoming bands. On average, he works about 125 shows a year. But after the virus hit the United States, he’s out of work for the foreseeable future, with little savings.
“I had hardly any work toward the end of the year,” said Griffin, 49, a father of three children. “You save up for dry times in this industry. Now it’s abso-lutely nothing. It’s totally bone dry.”
Griffin sought out financial help from his family as well as MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charitable orga-nization, which gave him US$1,000 to help with bills.
“I was so thankful for it,” he said.
For most people, COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more se-vere illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
The first real sign of the virus’ impact on mass events was the cancellation of the South By Southwest festival in Aus-tin, Texas, followed by the postponing of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. It’s likely that those mass entertainment events and venues won’t be the first to return either.
“In my 29 years, this is the worst I have ever seen,” said Chris Lisle, of CLLD LLC, a production designer in Nashville, Tennessee.
He started a nonprofit years ago called Touring Career Workshop to help free-lancers in the live music industry with education about health insurance, re-tirement plans, accounting and taxes. Another program, called All Access, connects touring workers with mental health and counseling professionals, which he said will be critical for a lot of out-of-work people right now.
Lisle said that while many major tour-ing artists have salaried staff there are many more jobs like support techni-cians, video techs and audio techs that work on a freelance basis.
Country artist Zac Brown posted a video on Instagram a day after canceling his tour with tears in his eyes to explain that he had to let go of 90 percent of his crew and touring staff.
Bandit Lites, a large stage lighting company with seven offices in America, Europe and Asia, employs 250 employ-ees and works with 300 clients including Garth Brooks and Jimmy Buffett. Michael Strickland, the founder of the company, said he’s got a plan to get his business through the next 24 weeks without lay-offs or pay reductions.
“I’ve now seen three artists with net worths of over US$50 million on televi-sion crying, talking about having to lay off 20 people,” Strickland said. “That’s a head scratcher.”
He is urging live event businesses and artists to avoid layoffs and seek out federal financial assistance under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump last week. That provides small businesses with tax credits as re-imbursements for providing employees with paid family and medical leave.
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