One of the many things that has been forced to change as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has been the way we gather together in groups. We’ve all been forced to adapt t new, virtual ways of getting together, and a lot of experts are warning that we may be stuck with this way of connecting for a while.

So, what does that mean for the future of concert?

One music venue in Arkansas may be the model for returning to the music scene.

According to Ticketmaster, Travis McCready of the rock group Bishop Gunn, was scheduled to play at TempleLive in Fort Smith, on May 15. Billboard called it “one of the pandemic’s first socially-distanced concerts” – and with good reason.

On the show’s Ticketmaster landing page, in a special note to concert goers, the venue said it was putting a number of measures in place to keep revelers safe. These included:

• A capacity reduced by 80%, from 1,100 people to an exclusive 229.
• The entire venue was sanitized by a professional, third-party company using fog sprayers.
• All attendees were checked for fever at the door.
• Masks were required for all concert goers and employees – and were sold at the venue.
• Seating groups and “fan pods” all had a minimum of 6 feet between them.
• Bathrooms were limited to a capacity of 10 people at a time.
• All drinks were sold with lids.

Concerts and the Future

TempleLive’s efforts may be some of the first to go into effect, but most professionals in the music and concert industry agree that similar measures will go into practice everywhere when live shows are able to resume in large numbers.

Karly Tuckness, the co-founder of Fourth Leaf Productions, in an interview with USAToday, predicted that fever checks, mask requirements, and hand-washing stations will becomes the new normal – at least in the short-term.

President of Code 4 Event Management and Emergency Services, Scott Davidson, said he was planning on adding extra safety training for venue workers, as well as additional signage for concertgoers, according to USAToday. He went on to recommend that attendees be required to register their attendance at some events to help with ongoing contact tracing efforts.

But, there is the worry that these measure might not be enough to entice fans back into the seats.

Jake Burns, singer and guitarist for the punk rock band Stiff Little Fingers, told WBUR that he expects some music fans will remain cautious. His opinion is that, while some may be quick to return to the shows, he warns “there are others who may well never go to anther show again in their lives. I believe most folks will fall in the middle. It will probably take a recognized vaccine to get these people back to venues.”

Toby Mamis, a representative of rock icon Alice Cooper, said that many in Cooper’s team hope to be back on the road by the early fall, but he agrees they “might have to wait until enough people have been vaccinated,” according to WBUR.

And with most experts saying a coronavirus vaccine won’t be ready for at least 12 to 18 months, according to the New York Times, that likely means fewer people in seats – thanks to both precautionary capacity limits and dubious fans – which could result in more expensive tickets if you’re one of those eager to get back out there.

Dave Rosenfeld, owner of Goodworks Live Entertainment, which owns Infinity Music Halls in Connecticut, agrees. He predicts that pricing at the venues may have to change:

“In six months or nine months we might change the pricing a little bit,” he told the Hartford Courant. “We have to make sure the artists and Infinity Hall aren’t too badly penalized by our inability to put enough people in the house.”

Still others believe that the industry will recover and return to something resembling normalcy – it just may take a little while.

According to several outlets, Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, said during a recent earnings call with shareholders, that his company is preparing for ticket sales “in the third and fourth quarters for 2021 at full scale.”

He went on to agree that it was unlikely there would be many ticketed concerts in venues during the rest of the 2020 season, but Live Nation may be preparing to roll out some live music alternatives sooner. These might range from audience-free shows and drive-in performances to the same sort of reduced-capacity shows other organizations are trying.

Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canada Live Music Association, was gladdened by the news.

“Any live music activity is awesome and I have no doubt that any live music companies in the world would be responding to protocols laid out by public health,” he told the Toronto Star. “And if they’re acting in accordance with that, I say, ‘Bring it on, amazing!’ The world needs live music right now. We need to be able to get out and see shows in whatever way we can.”

But she was quick to offer a warning as well:

“There’s zero live revenue from music right now and thousands of layoffs, so the live music industry is definitely a shadow of its former self… I think we’re going to have to redefine our definition of the term ‘bounce back,’” she said. “With our sector and a number of others, there’s no ‘bouncing back’ within a matter of months.

“We’re looking at a much larger time frame than anyone would have hoped.”

How much are you looking forward to the return of concerts and live music? Are you one of those fans who is eager to get back as soon as you can? Or are you in the more cautious group that wants to wait until there is a vaccine, or at least a treatment?

Or has covid-19 turned you off live music forever? Let us know what you think about all this in the comments!