According to a new forecast, the UK live music sector will return to the same revenue as before the coronavirus pandemic in 2025. (Via: NME.com)
Live music will return unrestricted to England on Monday, July 19, following the British government’s decision to go ahead with the lifting of most of the rules applied by the coronavirus in the country. However, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there will continue to be restrictions on live events.
A new forecast from PwC in its “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2021-2025” report predicts that UK live music revenue will only be able to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
Live music revenue will grow at an annual rate of 17% over the next four years in the UK, according to the report. After falling to 225 million pounds in 2020, revenue is expected to reach 846 million pounds by the end of this year.
By 2025, UK live music revenue is forecast to be worth £ 1.56bn, about the same as £ 1.58bn in 2019.
–
–
Mark Maitland, Head of Entertainment and Media at PwC UK, said: “The rapid migration of British consumers to digital behaviors in the pandemic has been incorporated into their daily lives, helping to sustain overall growth in the entertainment and media sector for the next five years. As businesses rush to meet the changing needs of consumers with new products, services and experiences, the entertainment and media industry will become more ubiquitous, more immersive and more diverse. “
“Some sectors have found interesting ways to circumvent the effects of the pandemic: notable examples are B2B events moving to online / virtual formats and now increasingly hybrid. However, sectors such as live music have struggled to go virtual, since it is very difficult to reproduce the experience in person online. So there is a repressed demand in those sectors, ready to be released when the lockdown ends “, added.
In recent statements to NME, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Industries Association, said he and nightclub managers across the country would work to ensure that the reopening is as safe as possible to avoid “more restrictions being imposed again in October.”
“My goal is to make sure we deliver as an industry, so we don’t have to ask ourselves that,” Kill added. “More closures will paralyze the industry and we can’t afford that. We need everyone to do their part.”
Boris Johnson has urged nightclubs and large events to employ controls for so-called “COVID passports” when restrictions are lifted in England next week.
