Covid-19 Infecting the Music Industry
By: Hera Soysal
Tags: Music, Coronavirus, Music Industry, Music Festivals, Spotify

What will happen to music festivals?

Coachella has been delayed, SXSW and Ultra canceled, Live Nation and AEG tours suspended all causing a severe financial loss for not only the companies and festival organizers but also the customers that so eagerly wait for these events every year. As most tickets are pre-sold months in advance, many have already invested in attending these events, however, due to the unexpected circumstances brought by Covid- 19 people all over the world are taking a financial hit.

Ultra Music Festival Source: Creative Commons

Will customers get their money back?

As all of the upcoming music festivals for the spring/summer seasons have been either canceled or postponed, ticket holders all around the world want to know what to expect with their purchases. Ultra Music Festival, for example, has emailed ticket holders that they do not intend to grant any refunds. Instead, clients will be offered a benefit package that supplements their tickets that will be valid for the following 2 years. Clients will have until April 9th to decide which festival they would like to attend. Like Ultra, South by Southwest notified their customers, through email, that their tickets would be valid for the upcoming years, however, didn’t mention any specificity on offering reimbursements.

During these times, you must be thinking how can these festivals not give people their money back, when they need it most? Well, it’s simple. When buying tickets from most music festivals, including Ultra and SXSW, you sign a clause in its terms and conditions that reserves the company the right to postpone an event and reschedule without issuing refunds. This leaves ticket holders extremely angered, as they don’t know if they will be able to attend the festival the upcoming years, as well as, not being able to get their money back in a time of economic crisis.

Official notice Tweet from Ultra Music Festival

What do cancellations mean for artists, staffers, vendors, and festival organizers?

Festival cancellations have financial repercussions for all the artists, staffers, vendors, and organizers involved. Of course, there are contracts put in place that solve any legal issues that might come up. In the case of the Coronavirus, local or state governments have issued mandates to stop these events from happening which means cancellations might be different.

Due to Force Majeure, most artists and vendors won’t be paid except for work or expenses from before the festival was canceled. This is because according to Force Majeure, payment will not occur for a performance that didn’t happen. On the other hand, festival organizers that didn’t have insurance for viruses and pandemics may encounter some expenses out-of-pocket for the planned staffing and marketing.

Overall, the expenses from the cancellation and postponement of festivals are immeasurable. Music festivals serve as massive revenue for their local economies. SXSW alone was intended to bring $356 million to the city of Austin. According to NBC, $805 million was going to be made by Coachella Valley, and the city that it takes place in, Indio, was going to receive approximately $212 million of that money.

The Coronavirus has made artists and festival organizers have to deal with legal issues that have never occurred before, therefore, insurance is not enough to handle the present circumstances. From now on, we know that festival organizers will have to find ways to adapt to the realities of our world and come up with ideas to take precautions for coming events. No doubt music festivals will never be the same.