Live music was forced to stop in many parts of the world due to the onset of the global pandemic in 2020.
A new report has predicted that by 2025 the UK’s live music industry could return to its pre-pandemic levels, which suggests other countries around the world could recover their industry in a similar time period.
The prediction comes from PwC’s ‘Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2021-2025’ which calculates a 17% annual rate over a four year period.
It’s believed that the revenue brought in by the live music industry could reach £1.46B in 2025, which would be a recovery from the huge fall it took during the pandemic, as during 2020 it generated only £225 million. Prior to the pandemic the industry’s estimated annual value was £1.58B.
Mark Maitland is PwC’s UK head of Entertainment and Media, and speaking on the findings he said: “UK consumers’ rapid migration to digital behaviours in the pandemic has now become embedded in their day-to-day lives, helping to sustain overall growth across Entertainment and Media for the coming five years. As companies race to meet consumers’ evolving needs with new products, services and experiences, the E&M industry will become more pervasive, more immersive and more diverse.
“Some sectors have found interesting ways to navigate the effects of the pandemic – notable examples include B2B events moving to online/virtual and now increasingly hybrid formats. However, sectors such as live music have struggled to go virtual, as it’s so difficult to replicate the in-person experience online. So there’s pent-up demand in those sectors ready to be released as lockdown ends.”
Currently, lockdown restrictions in the UK are due to be lifted in full on the 19th of July, which means that live music events and nightclubs can go ahead at full capacity. This should allow the country’s nightlife industries to start their recovery.
Other parts of the world such as America are also opening up again, but places such as Holland have been forced to postpone the lifting of restrictions.
H/T: Mixmag
