Representatives of the artists are responsible for planning
The singer’s LP and the legendary Sting concerts in “Arena Riga” are also special from the point of view of the so-called postponed: Laura Pergolici’s concert has been postponed from February 19 (then the entire scheduled European tour had to be postponed to autumn) and Sting’s – from 5 to March. It may seem from the outside: what’s so special, put the concert on another date and the party is over! But it is not, from the point of view of the organization of logistics, a very complicated process.
“For the most part, the work of rescheduling the tour and coordinating its dates concerns the agencies that represent the artists,” explains Gints Putniņš, head of the concert agency “L Tips Agency”. “We just have to book a specific date (among the great artists, L. Tips gives concerts of LP, The Cure and Sigur Ros, but Sting is under the control of the FBI concert agency – aut.), But the hardest thing in such postponed tours, which have dozens of dates, have to plan the whole trip. It has to be done completely from scratch, because different places have different situations with the availability of concert halls. It will not be the case that a concert will be held in Spain, then the next one – in Latvia, and the next one – in Italy. Plan the concerts so that they are at a reasonable distance from each other and consecutively. When planning new dates for the tour of a particular artist or band, the agency asks all local concert promoters if these new dates are acceptable. The ideal option is if they are free for all and if concert seats are available. However, if they do not satisfy someone, rescheduling of the tour: you can add to three cities to this concert map, you can change region, etc. “.
“Dinamo” from Riga has released a concert venue
In terms of the availability of a concert hall, Riga is lucky because it cannot be said that Arena Riga is insanely overcrowded – especially after the resignation of Riga Dinamo from KHL … and therefore we should forgo postponing the concert by the artist, but this is a problem in Western countries, “Gints explains.
“If a concert is canceled or moved, it is more difficult for us from a psychological point of view, especially considering the sad experience of these two years of covid-19. It may happen that people are not satisfied with the new date proposed for the concert, so we have to pay back the money for the tickets, which in turn absolutely destroys our financial plans. For example, during the era of Covid-19, there were also times when more tickets were returned than bought again , so we could not count on a specific number of visitors, and therefore also on income “.
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We look with concern in the direction of the covid
The cancellation of concerts and even tours due to covid hasn’t been uncommon this spring, so we have to watch with concern at the currently growing wave of omicron. The first victim is already here: very recently, music fans were saddened (and many were even shocked) by the news that “due to the illness of a member of the group”, the planned concert of the cult group “Dead Can Dance “on October 31 in” Arena Riga “was canceled. This does not apply to the covid. “We have not been informed exactly which of the group members have health problems and which ones exactly, but this has nothing to do with covid – these are other types of health problems,” said Gints Putniņš, head of “L Tips Agency “. “” Dead Can Dance “canceled the whole tour – not just concerts in Riga or the Baltic countries, but across Europe and even North America.”
Of course, there is a risk of getting sick, so artists try to be as careful as possible. “For example, if in the past there were also so-called” meet & greet “events on such tours, where fans could have the opportunity to meet artists at competitions, now there are practically no such events anymore, because the artists are afraid of coming into contact with unknown people and getting infected in this way, ”Gint said. “A vivid example of the existence of such a problem was the” Sparks “tour this spring (this group performed at our house on May 6 at” Hanza Peron “- author). The band started their tour ad April, and in the meantime they had to think about canceling it, because one of them got sick at the beginning [pavadošā sastāva] member, then another, etc. Luckily we were able to find substitutes and continue the tour. “
“We haven’t heard of such events lately, but in the spring and even in the summer we often had to read that a group had canceled a tour or concert due to musicians’ illness. You have to understand that we depend a lot on what happens elsewhere. For example, if an artist goes on tour in 20 countries, three or five of which have strict covid restrictions, the entire tour may have to be canceled because it is no longer possible to organize a concert chain logistically, and not it’s more financially advantageous for the artist: he won’t sit in a city for three days waiting for the next performance because it’s all extra costs! “
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Concert life was also paralyzed by the war in Ukraine
Recently, local artists have complained about potential concert-goers’ habits of buying tickets at the last minute. For example, Shipsea jokingly shamed his listeners at the Daile Theater “don’t do it again”, because a week before the event he already thought he should perform in an empty hall … “At concerts by Western artists, this trend is not so pronounced, partly because tickets are more expensive and purchasing them is not a last-minute decision, people are accruing for this purchase over a longer period of time, ”Gints explained. “But the general trend is that tickets for international artists tend to be bought at the last minute. Such trends are created by the unsafe environment: people wait until the last moment, when it is clear that the concert will actually take place. To be honest, hats off – I have a lot of respect for those people who buy concert tickets six months or even a year in advance – I don’t even know if I’d do it myself, “admits Gints candidly.
The concert organizers were tortured for two years under conditions of covid restrictions, but as soon as they were lifted, it hit a new grief … “In February, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the feelings were extremely weak, “admits Gints. “It already seemed that we had survived the times of the covid with the pain, a ray of hope appeared that gradually we would be able to at least conditionally get back to the old tracks, but then … All hopes vanished overnight. Sales of tickets fell to almost zero after the events of February 24. A month or even two, which is very important for concert organizers from a ticketing point of view, has been completely lost. “
Energy crises await anxiously
The events in Ukraine are not yet resolved (i.e. the Ukrainians have not yet managed to expel the Russian invaders from their land), but in their context the energy crisis has already arisen, which currently hangs over everyone’s head like the sword of Damocles. “This fall, winter and next spring promise to be very strict in my opinion,” admits Gints Putniņš, head of “L Tips Agency”. “In the past, the part of society that consumes culture was estimated at 20%, but an even smaller part was that which could afford to attend concerts by international artists. Now this part will decrease even more, because there will be people who, simply by looking in their wallet, will understand that they can no longer afford anything like this – precisely from the point of view of uncertainty about the future. We have entered the next level of the spiral of uncertainty and worry, and when and how it will end, no one can say right now … “
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