How COVID Changed the Entertainment Industry

By: Nicole McCray

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many industries and small businesses, and one of the most severely affected was the entertainment and media industries. The global pandemic created significant feelings of uncertainty and change, making it tricky to determine where technology will lead us.

So, what areas were affected? And how? Plenty of services suffered, from performing arts venues having to cancel any live shows to Hollywood studios having to delay releases, cease production, and scramble to meet their budgets.

All in all, the chaos of the pandemic reshaped the attention of the entertainment industry, bringing to light various other opportunities to continue to work and provide their services – and this is where the industry is heading next.

Most relevant for many of us, movie theaters and production studios were temporarily closed due to the pandemic, so moviegoers were confined to home. In addition, while many studios were working towards the emergence of new streaming services, the pandemic ultimately sped up the process and transitions from big names including Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

Those at home were able to watch many new movie releases through these streaming services and on-demand. There are, however, many new releases that were held back until theaters could be open again, for the sheer anticipation of hoping that viewers would return to watch the big screens.

What can we expect from movies now? Many of the low-budget films are still going to be found releasing through streaming. In addition, many new movies have and will probably continue launching in a dual release fashion, where you can purchase it to stream or watch it in a movie theater.

Live performances were also impacted, with the close of Broadway plays and musicals throughout New York City and across the globe. Rehearsals had to cease, and performance venues had to shut down.

Community theaters and non-profit theater companies had to overhaul their live performances completely, many pivoting to providing online performances to continue raising revenue and not sink completely. Any new premieres or openings were postponed, which created a difficult transition for buying rights for performances, with many needing extensions or just canceling altogether.

With many people embracing technology, online streaming platforms became the venue for the distribution of live performances - with the correct licenses, of course. On The Stage was one such production company that assisted theatrical performance venues with ticket sales and online streaming for shows so that they could continue to promote and raise money during COVID-19.

What is expected with live performances now? Broadway finally opened back up in September of 2021, with some strict adherences to maintain social distancing, vaccinated patrons, and mask-wearing - but people can go in person to see a show. However, many other venues have adapted to the digital platform streaming, and theaters are entertaining having both live performances and streaming of the live performances to bump their profits further.

Plus, the pandemic severely impacted the music industry; many bands and artists had to cancel their tours, and live concert venues were not generating any ticket sales. Instead, musicians and composers took the downtime to work on creating new music from home. Independent artists could no longer perform in bars or at open mics, so they turned to digital streaming platforms for their music such as Apple, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and more to maintain a presence and try to increase exposure without performing.

Likewise, many music teachers had to pivot their teaching methods from their home or within a music studio. Allison S., a teacher for Music To Your Home's piano lessons, stated that the pandemic “raised so many concerns for how we were to continue to teach our students. As a result, many of the teachers like myself switched to offering online lessons so that we could continue to earn income.”

Still, the online world provided its own challenges for teachers, with delays for sound and distractions on the students’ end if they didn’t have a quiet space to learn or faulty internet. Allison cited that “we had scope for different platforms that streamed more simultaneously in time without a delay since timing is everything when it comes to music.”

So, what is the outcome of how COVID-19 changed music? There will be many emerging trends for the distribution and licensing of music online, that is for sure. Independent artists have even sparked a new copyright law that will provide them with more royalties from streaming their own original works.

Music teachers have also learned the benefits of offering online lessons for students when they are sick or otherwise unable to make a lesson (perhaps due to quarantining) not to have to miss by taking a class online. Teachers also have discovered that they can expand their network of students without the constriction of distance by providing online lessons.

Overall, the pandemic has undoubtedly led to an upheaval in many aspects of the entertainment industry. It continues to impact the way that people will engage in media from here on out. One thing is for certain: through embracing technology, people are able to stay connected, stream movies, continue to find ways to work and gain exposure and teach and perform.

These pivots throughout entertainment certainly infer what is to come – a heavier reliance on creating and producing for the masses so that people can all still enjoy and be a part of it from the comforts of home. While many of us crave more interaction and look forward to a day when going to a concert, show, taking a lesson, or seeing a movie can be done freely in person, there are still others (“homebodies”) that will reap the benefits of doing it all while sitting on the couch.