上午看到了外文報導關於 Live Nation 財報，果不期然的巨大衰退！
被這一篇標題吸引到：
Live Nation CEO Predicts A Robust Outdoor Summer Season in 2021
https://themusicessentials.com/news/live-nation-ceo-predicts-a-robust-outdoor-summer-season-in-2021/
全球最大的演出產業 Live Nation CEO 預估 2021 年夏天戶外演出將回歸大眾生活。
身為 CEO，理所當然要對未來保持審慎（但樂觀），而在現今情勢下，不可能預期這悲壯的 2020 年還有任何恢復機會。於是最合理的預估時間，確實只有先看看 2021 年的夏天。
Live Nation 針對第二季度的財報做了發佈，如同所有人能預見的，但依然震驚了的衰退程度，98%的衰退幅度！過往 Live Nation 第二季都是亮麗而強勁的表現，得益於氣候回暖後，戶外活動開始舉辦。於是對比起來今年 Q2 是如此的迥異變化。
於是在這樣恐怖的業績表現結果被揭露後，CEO Michael Rapino 做了此樂觀的預估發送給公司的股東們。
在發送的信息中，Rapino 提到：
最重要的是粉絲們將會在安全的情況下再次回到現場演出之中。尤其最重要的觀察指標是在提供了退票選項給粉絲們的前提下，事實上粉絲都依然留著票券，等待演出的回歸。截止第二季末統計，86%的粉絲依然留著票期待著重新安排的演出時間。
但另一方面來說，公共衛生部門並未如此樂觀看待這個時間點。在現今的疫苗研發與疫情控制的狀況趨勢之下，有關當局仍認為在 2021年末甚至2022年之後，才可能有大規模的戶外活動回歸。
也就是說，演出產業只能儘速去適應這個情勢並嘗試不一樣的方式來做好社交距離的措施，例如像過去汽車電影院一般的讓觀眾透過開著自己的車子在車上參加演唱會。但這樣會是個未來趨勢還是個巨大黑洞，只能繼續觀察看看了。
延伸的感想
是不是頗悲觀？個人感覺還是恰如情勢般的描述。還記得前數篇提到的這個：
事實上當時剛剛看了一集韓國綜藝節目 Begin Again，在最新一季（第四季）的節目策劃，就跟前三季的設定有了很大的轉變，主要就是受了 COVID-19 影響。最新一季 Begin Again Korea 將類似的形式回到韓國本土執行，策劃主題非常棒！可以看 Wikipedia 的描述：
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begin_Again_Korea_(電視節目)
引用一段：
《Begin Again Korea》（韓語：비긴어게인 코리아）為韓國JTBC的音樂節目，原為韓國頂級音樂人在海外陌生的城市挑戰街頭路演，因為突然發生的「新冠肺炎」導致平凡的日常停擺，因此本季是在熟悉的韓國，前往全國需要應援的不同地方，展開一場「維持距離街頭公演音樂旅行」，將音樂作為禮物，以此安慰度過辛苦時間的韓國國民們。節目與保健福祉部、各地方政府合作，希望市民、音樂人們與製作組全部都能在安全的環境中享受音樂，短暫地得到治癒的時間。
在本季的第一集中，就做到的上文提到的汽車演出。
透過節目製作、剪輯，讓即使在業界看過算是多種樣式的自己依然大開眼界且獲益良多。很多細節在節目中一個畫面一個片段，都值得停下來細細思量是怎麼呈現出來的。
韓國傾全國之力扶持音樂娛樂文化產業，從而在整的產業鏈上棒棒開花，無愧於這段時間幾乎引領亞洲流行音樂文化的名聲。這樣的節目呈現，雖然無法解決很多戶外現場演出在商業模式上的閉環問題，卻依然是勇敢邁出這一步，做了大家不敢，甚至沒能力完成的一步。
有關於 Live Nation 的財報，其實也蠻值得研究觀察的，具體有興趣可以到這裡看看：
Highlights
- 86% of Fans Opting to Keep Tickets for Rescheduled Shows
- 19 Million Tickets Sold to More Than 4,000 Concerts and Festivals Scheduled for 2021
- $800 Million Cost Reduction Program Target in 2020
- $1.4 Billion Cash Management Program Target in 2020
Confidence in the Future of Live
Importantly, we remain confident that fans will return to live events when it is safe to do so. Our strongest indicator of demand is that fans are holding on to their tickets, even when given the option of a refund. Through the end of the second quarter, 86% of concert fans are keeping their tickets for rescheduled shows, demonstrating their continued desire to attend concerts in the future despite the current uncertainty.
Our expectations for a robust outdoor summer season in 2021 are also reinforced by the two-thirds of fans keeping their tickets for canceled festivals so they can go to next year’s show, along with strong early ticket sales for festivals in the UK next summer – for example, Download and Isle of Wight are pacing well ahead of last year.
Between the tickets held by fans for rescheduled shows and these festival onsales, we have already sold 19 million tickets to more than four thousand concerts and festivals scheduled for 2021, creating a strong baseload of demand that is pacing well ahead of this point last year. At the same time, surveys continue to show that concerts remain fans’ highest priority social event when it is safe to gather, with almost 90% of fans globally planning on attending concerts again.
Keeping Artists and Fans Connected
Understanding that it will be some time before we put on concerts at scale, we are innovating to find new and creative ways to help keep artists and fans connected in the meantime. Virtual concerts have proven to be in huge demand with fans, so we established the “Live From Home” platform to provide a convenient place for fans of all types to find performances from their favorite artists.
In the second quarter, we had 67 million fans view over 18 thousand concerts and festivals globally. Among our highlights, this past weekend we streamed 150 performances for our Virtual Lollapalooza Festival. Given the tremendous popularity of these shows, we are seeing the potential for live streaming to become an additional long-term component of our concert business, allowing fans in other cities, or those who can’t attend, to enjoy the concert as well.
At the same time, recognizing fans want to get back to attending concerts in person as soon as possible, we’ve launched socially distanced shows when and where permitted, including New Zealand, France, Denmark, Spain, Germany and Finland, as well as several cities across the United States.
Return to Live
While this is a challenging time for everyone – the live events business in particular – there are a few things that I am confident about: we are well positioned to weather this crisis, and we will get through this; when it is safe to return, we will have an abundance of fans and artists ready to enjoy live music again; and Live Nation will do everything in its power to meet our responsibilities to artists, fans, our employees and everyone else affected by this shutdown by bringing back as much live music as fast as possible when it is responsible to do so.
Michael Rapino
President and Chief Executive Officer
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.
