Production Designer Daniel Hellsten reflects about why there is a bright future for the Live Entertainment Industry
As some of you might already know, I´ve been active in what we call the Live Entertainment Business for almost 20 years now. And among with all my colleagues in this business, I´m devastated to see the whole industry being put to a halt completely because of the COVID-19 situation in the world. With this in mind, I´ve been trying to analyze what this will mean for our beloved industry in the future. Its, of course, impossible to know for sure, but if I try to see this from the bright side, we have a lot to look forward to when the new normal has settled. And if we all aim to get out stronger on the other side of this virus, I believe our business will flourish more then ever.
Below I have listed some positive things that I believe will come out of this terrible pandemic.
#1 We have no quitters
During my years in this industry, I only have met a few lazy people that give up. They have not been long-lasting and I never met them again. Therefore, our industry is full of people with a “show must go on” mentality. No matter how much work or time it takes. I think this will result in that we find alternative ways of doing our jobs, and also do it more efficiently.
For example, the live streaming technology is clearly getting an upswing from the situation, and I think that will result in more and more shows being live recorded or streamed for content purposes. Even more, than it already is and even more when the virus curve has been flattened. This will create more job opportunities in different ways. One way is that broadcast people will get even more to do of course. Another thing is that there will be more shows done, even if they don’t have physical audiences. Digital concerts are going to be a thing.
#2 We are learners
If it´s something you learn when working with live events, it’s that everything can change quickly. And we who works with them are now built to adapt quickly to changes. Also, a huge part of the professionals in this industry does not come from a “proper” education. They learnt by doing and will now adapt and learn new ways of getting the job done. Especially if it involves new technology, or even inventing new technology, which leads me to the next point.
Another thing is that this situation has forced some of us to work temporarily in other markets and industries. The ones doing that will make sure to come back with knowledge from it. It might be something that can make our industry better or something we should watch out for. This knowledge will spread within our community.
#3 We are problem solvers
We´ve never encountered such a hard hit to our industry like this pandemic. But adaptable as we are, we all go into problem-solving mode instantly. Even if we don’t see the obvious solution right now, I can´t remember a single time that we did not solve a problem in the end.
We have tour and production managers among other roles that are used to coordinating the most advanced logistics and arrangments, just to get a show going around the world. That knowledge can and definitely will be used to solve this crisis as well.
#4 We are Creative
Looking around me, I see people in our industry taking care of each other, starting fundraisings, petitions, Facebook groups, digital round table discussions. All in the search for ways of getting through this crisis. But also to discuss how we can help society. Production companies and rental houses obviously have a lot of material that can be used to build temporary buildings or structures that can be used by society during this crisis. And there are not many industries that can have such quick turn arounds on build-ups and strike downs then ours. This will be noticed, and in the long run, it will be remembered and that will create new job opportunities in markets we never had a clue needed our services.
#5 We have team spirit
Our community is huge and it’s international. And from my experience, most of us know or know of each other on a first name or nickname basis. We will inspire each other with all our different solutions worldwide, and we will probably do it quicker than most other industries, given the fact that that is what we do on a daily basis.
#6 The demand will grow quickly
Let´s face it, people need entertainment and people need to interact with each other. Our business is not dying. It’s on a temporary hold. It will never look exactly the same, but it will definitely come back. And it will come back strong. Of course, fans and audiences will hesitate at first to buy tickets for a while due to the risk of the virus spread. But that will only put pressure on us all to find solutions for even cleaner and more sanitized venues. Hell, this might even give us all a better hygiene attitude. It might give more insight into keeping tour buses and personal spaces cleaner and more enjoyable where we work.
Okay, I got a bit off track there but what I mean is that as we have this pause, the will to see and enjoy live experiences will grow rapidly over the next couple of years. Artists are going to want to go on long and huge tours to keep contact with fans and make up for the lost incomes. This might create such a demand after staff, that our salaries can go up and our business can be cleaned up, switching the power back to the working people a bit and not only the top end of our industry. We´ve been underestimated for a long time, and this crisis can be the start of opening the eyes of people and see whats actually going on behind the scenes.
#7 We finally can rest for a bit
There is basically no downtime for our industry is there? Except when a global pandemic hits. Finally, we can stay home for a while, see our family and take some well needed deep breaths. Even if I know that we now are facing financial stress, this pause might be exactly what we need to have the energy to grow stronger and keep the perception of our lives and feel gratitude.
#8 We´re being forced to make a plan.
Even if the situation sucks right now, we have so much to learn from it. For example, we are so many that live on a show to show basis financially, wich makes us very vulnerable. I think all of us now will realise that we need to take control of our own future and not only rely on management and promotors to come to save the day with money from their own pockets. We need to inspire them, give them ideas and tools to be able to have the guts to do more shows and sell more tickets and create more job opportunities. We can´t just sit around and wait for others to make the moves. We will send drawings, tell them whats new and how it can be used and teach them how to get as much as possible out of a show, without cutting down on staff or production technology too much. We will help others make money so that we can make money and we all then can earn a living.
Also, with this pandemic fresh i mind, we won´t forget how quickly we can be out of our jobs. Better contracts will be made and hopefully more used than ever, making sure we get paid properly. Let make sure we dont come out of this crisis with empty hands and damaged minds. Let’s make sure its the opposite.
My conclusion
We are really strong and we will get even stronger. So continue with what you are all doing out there.
Reach out to each other. Make plans. Draw up stages. Build something. Take it down and build it up quicker. Or just think really hard on how you can make a difference in this industry and for its members during this crisis. Create new groups and communities. Talk to artists and promotors. But most of all…
Take care, Stay safe and ride this one out. It’s just a really long day off with no per diems. We will see each other soon while making people happy.
