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Today's read ... 8️⃣ minutes

Headliner Adam Moulter is listening to 'Extra Pale' by latewaves.

The Hollywood Bowl is back, baby! Plus Live Nation bets hybrid is here to stay, top celebs headline a pro-vaccination livestream special, and there’s a job opening for a Director of Glamping that sounds… pretty amazing.

Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl is set reopen this July for a 14-week concert season. Specific programming has yet to be announced, and capacity will still be limited.

The Life is Beautiful festival has partnered with Lyte to allow fans to reserve single-day passes when they become available so they can avoid scalpers and ticket-buying bots.

California’s request that fans not yell, sing, or boo during indoor events has probably led to a lot of boos. 

UK company, Swallow Events, has developed an at-home testing kit linked to a digital health platform that could be used for admittance to events in the future. Their on-site testing kit is already being utilized by Albania’s Unum Festival. 

Many venues in Australia’s major cities have returned to full capacity, including some concert halls. Also, MixMag discusses how New Zealand is back to raving.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement that everyone will have had access to the vaccine by September, in an open letter, the German live events industry is calling for a reopening plan that allows events to be held with no restrictions starting September 21.

Dutch FieldLab test concerts have concluded that seated, indoor shows with 50% capacity without social distancing are not safety risks so long as attendees are tested prior to the event, wear masks, and the venue has sufficient ventilation.

Parent company of Rolling Stone and Billboard purchases 50% stake in SXSW with plans to work together in developing the 2022 event.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Tyler Childers will headline the Under The Big Sky festival in Whitefish, Montana to return this July.

Here is a current list of announcements on Chicago’s summer of events including Ravinia, Country Thunder, Riot Fest, Summerfest, and more.

Hundreds of Fyre Festival attendees are expected to receive more than $7,000 as part of a class action settlement. The founder, Billy McFarland is currently serving 6 years in federal prison on fraud charges.

Live Nation Moves to Make Virtual Performances Permanent 

Virtual events proved to be very lucrative for some artists during the pandemic, and it seems they’re here to stay. The Edinburgh International Festival will take place this August in-person, but many performances will also be streaming online. Live Nation and their ticketed livestream platform, Veeps, are working to install livestream technology in over 60 of Live Nation’s US venues, including The Fillmore in San Francisco and Philadelphia, the House of Blues in Chicago and New Orleans, and Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre. The intention is to open up shows virtually to unlimited audiences everywhere and allow artists to generate more revenue. There has been growing conversations around the future of hybrid events, and Live Nation seems to be preparing to take advantage.  

The Road to Reopening

New York’s SummerStage has announced a return to in-person concerts this summer joining previously-announced openings across the state, including movie theaters and smaller venues as vaccines continue to slow COVID outbreaks.

• Global Citizen announces Vax Live, a livestream special featuring Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R., Foo Fighters and J Balvin in support of vaccinations.

• AEG is set to debut a new outdoor venue in Wyoming which will host summer concerts with a capacity of 5,000 guests.

• Organizers of the Edinburgh International Festival have unveiled plans to use outdoor venues across the city to host live performances for the return of live events to the city.

However, not all U.S. venues are ready to open their doors. Despite a green light from California to reopen, many small and medium-sized venues are hesitant to welcome guests, citing high operational costs with limited-capacity events as being cost-prohibitive.

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Adam Moulter is a live event professional with more than a decade's worth of experience in large-scale events and music festivals. After starting his career at Madison Square Garden, where he worked on booking and ticketing the company's theatre venues, Adam is currently the Sr. Manager of Business Development for Front Gate Tickets. In addition to his role with FGT, Adam serves as the Box Office Manager for the Boston Calling Music Festival as well as a member of the Newport Folk Festival's production team, overseeing the legendary festival's backstage artist zones. Adam holds a Masters of Music Industry Leadership from Northeastern University, where he researched consumer attitudes towards concert ticketing fees, and recently sat down with Back Of House to lay out how he sees the return to live playing out post-pandemic.

Customer-Centric Strategy Needs to Lead Ticketing Changes

I think it goes without saying that the last 13 months were hands down, without question the most disruptive time the live music and festival industries have faced. As we begin to ramp back up, we need to take a minute to refocus on the most important piece of the equation -- the music-loving fans, our consumers.

The pandemic spotlighted a unique truth about live music: Without fans, there is no industry. Fans are the keystone of the entire experience.

We’ve all seen some amazing livestreams and digital festivals since last March, but they aren’t a true replacement for being transported away from the ordinary of every day to a moment within a festival, singing along to the band, feeling speakers pounding inside your chest. Livestreams have shown that there really isn’t any analog for a shared musical experience. There’s no cookbook or recipe you can follow at home to whip up Lollapalooza in your living room. 

Would you support requiring vaccine passports for guests to attend summer festivals? 

Or

60% of BOH readers' feel that they will work their first festival September or later.

▶️  Insignia Event Services is seeking a Director of Marketing and Business Development to oversee all marketing and sales for the company.▶️  Paws Up is seeking a Director of Glamping to deliver world class food and beverage and lodging services to our guests.▶️  Pitchfork Live Events is looking for an Associate Event Producer to assist with coordination of all aspects of Pitchfork’s events including developing concepts and overseeing operations.

▶️  BizBash details 10 skills every event planner needs to have in the post-pandemic world.▶️  Take a walk Caamp! This folk trio created a playlist generator to match your mood as you walk with songs from their collective and solo projects.▶️  The first full-length concert NFT has sold for $1.2 million.▶️  Listen to this: Elton John joins Rina Sawayama for a new version of her “Chosen Family” track.

April 21: Event Manager Blog is hosting Responsible Revenue: How to Host a Profitable and Safe Hybrid Event. 

April 22: Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit will be discussing the entertainment industry's evolving digital trends, storytelling strategies and new platforms to deliver marketing messages.

May 20: Sound Mind’s Mental Health Music Festival will be a live drive-in AND global livestream. The proceeds will support programs of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and their local affiliates around the country.

June 8-10: The Event & Arena Marketing Conference in partnership with Event Hub is a professional network and educational opportunity for both event and venue/facility marketers. Registration is complimentary for all attendees.

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