Music makes its cinema

In November, Mylène Farmer, Shawn Mendes and Andrea Bocelli will be in concert in Belgium… At least in certain cinemas, where filmed concerts are a hit!

The “Nevermore” tour concert, November 7, if there are places available. – Nevermore Published on 05/11/2024 at 3:53 p.m. By Jean-Jacques Lecocq For Ciné-Télé-Revue

Want to go to a concert? Would you rather make a canvas for yourself? What if you combined the two? Concert films are multiplying like hot cakes. It has become a real must for the most popular musicians. The reasons for this success are multiple.

First, there is the increase in ticket prices for concerts. As The Cure releases its new album this November 1, the twilight “Songs of a Lost World”, Robert Smith returned to the scandal of “dynamic pricing” at ticket offices. A practice which consists of adapting, upwards, the price of tickets according to demand. The controversy grew with the return of Oasis for an exceptional tour in 2025 which caused prices to explode. “This scam would disappear if all artists refused it. This is all driven by greed,” Smith said. But even for a group like Indochine, which fights to keep its tickets at an affordable price, between 55 and 80 euros, that’s expensive for an outing, compared to a cinema ticket.

Public demand itself plays an important role: it is impossible for the most popular artists to be able to schedule enough dates on their tours to satisfy all their fans. There are still some left, which can now compensate with the filmed concerts. For the most fanatics who have seen their artist on stage, it is also a way to rediscover the emotion of the experience.

Shawn Mendes, to see and hear on November 14. -DR

What is good is that technical means have evolved so much in recent years that they make it possible to produce recordings of a quality worthy of Hollywood productions. And all the artists got involved: we can cite Coldplay with “Live at River River Plate”, Beyoncé with “Renaissance”, Taylor Swift with “The Eras Tour” – 262 million dollars in revenue worldwide –, Justin Bieber with “Never Say Never”… Some combine the comfort of the room with the live experience. In 2022, with Central Tour, Indochine gave the world’s first concert filmed live for an Imax theater. It arrived at number 1 at the French box office that day in 477 theaters! Today, “Central Tour, the film” is available on Apple+.

Unique events

Evolution of consumption habits requires that certain artists go directly to the platforms. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts World Tour”, recorded at the Los Angeles Dome, arrived on Netflix this October 29, alongside concerts by Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift. Enough to perpetuate their success. In December, we do not yet know on which exact medium, Stromae promised a free film of the Multitude tour, to be forgiven for having had to interrupt it. Already an event! Before that, on November 7, Mylène Farmer invites her fans to see “Nevermore, the film” during a unique evening. A way to extend the success encountered during the biggest stadium tour for a French artist. In France, 4 months before the film’s release, there were already 50,000 reservations.

On November 14, Shawn Mendes invites the public to attend, in a limited number of theaters worldwide (including Kinepolis Brussels, phew!), the film of the concert “For Friends and Family” recorded at the Bearsville Theater, in Woodstock. The public will thus discover the entirety of his new album even before its official release. On November 17, Andrea Bocelli will celebrate her 30th career with “The Celebration”, an exceptional concert filmed in Tuscany in which Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain, Russell Crowe and Sofia Vergara participated. Where when music makes its cinema. For venues facing declining attendance, these filmed concerts become a real alternative.

John Williams, since November 1 on Disney +. -Disney+

Music for your eyes

CDs are no longer selling, but music is doing well. In addition to concert films, music documentaries are a hit on the platforms. “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band” is not to be missed on Disney +, where “Music by John Williams” arrives on November 1. This film traces, from his beginnings as a jazzman, the masterful career of the composer of “Star Wars”, nominated 54 times for the Oscars. Other great successes linking cinema and music: film concerts, where cinema classics, such as “Les choristes”, are broadcast with a real orchestra.