Niall Horan, Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa point to online concert future with new ticketed model
Niall Horan’s plan to support the dozens of crew members he had to stand down because of COVID-19 heralds the immediate future of international concerts.
Music
Don't miss out on the headlines from Music. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It was the toughest email Niall Horan has ever had to send.
Just a few weeks after the release of his second solo album Heartbreak Weather on March 13, as COVID-19 swept the globe, borders closed and governments banned mass gatherings, the Irish musician cancelled his world tour.
As he pressed send on the email which stood down 35 people in his touring party — his band, tour manager, security, hair and make-up artist, technical crew — Horan knew it was the beginning of an indefinite end to global touring.
And that every recipient of that email would struggle to pay their mortgages or rent, let alone the hundreds of workers — truck and bus drivers, stage riggers, merchandise sellers, venue food and beverage staff, ushers, ticketsellers — who would have been employed for each gig in each city.
While One Direction’s Harry Styles has postponed his tour and is yet to announce rescheduled dates and Louis Tomlinson shifted his scheduled April shows in Australia until June next year, Horan says as a “realist not an optimist” he felt compelled to cancel, also factoring in the fact his fans would be financially stretched by the pandemic’s economic impacts.
“A lot of people were rescheduling but I don’t feel it’s right. If you’re a mum with three kids and you bring them to the show, if it’s 50 quid a ticket, that’s 200 quid for tickets alone, plus petrol to get there, parking outside the stadium, the T-shirts, the drinks and before you know it, you’ve spent 500, 600 quid on one gig,” he says. “I just thought they’re gonna need that 200 quid at some point.
“I can’t even go into the pub with six people, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to go to a venue with 20,000 … It’s harsh and it sounds horrific but none of us ever thought we would be having conversations like this.
“And if there’s anyone who would love to go to a live gig, it’s me but I just can’t see it happening for a while so I think it was only fair.”
Members of his touring crew found work where they could, as builders’ labourers or stacking supermarket shelves, like the millions who found themselves unemployed in the wake of the virus restrictions.
Now Horan has booked an ambitious gig with the goal of raising upwards of $500,000 to support live music workers who have no idea when they will be back on the job.
Horan will perform live from the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London this weekend, with the concert streamed across four different timeslots around the world.
“The hardest part of sending the email was kind of figuring out at that time that the governments were not going to help,” he says. “It’s madness. They don’t mind taking those people’s tax money next year when we get back to normal but these self-employed people couldn’t get support (from government packages). Live music is a multi-billion dollar industry and the engine room of that has been completely left behind which has been the most frustrating part.”
For Horan, the pay-off is simple. He gets to raise money to support the unemployed, he gets to “have a craic” and get back on the stage and his fans get a gig.
He admits to suffering some anxiety and despair about the COVID-curtailed fortunes of his Heartbreak Weather record, adamant it would have fared materially better on streaming and sales charts if he had been able to support it with live gigs.
The amiable Irishman quickly switched into self-care mode, took up cycling — complete with the Lycra kit — played golf when restrictions allowed and worked on his home cooking game.
“Cycling was a big one because I can’t run, I’ve got terrible knees — you’d think you were talking to a 70-year-old man. I got into the Lycra, the whole gear,” he says.
“I don’t know how these paparazzi f---ers get out (of lockdown) … I didn’t see them at all and here I was pulling my phone out of my arse, in my Borat costume, checking to see what my time was. I’m mad into that now.”
After the raft of impromptu home gigs streamed by artists during lockdown to boost the spirits of fans, artists are now switching to ticketed concerts which have elevated their offerings with stunning production and filmed professionally rather than via an iPhone on a tripod.
Nick Cave streamed his beautifully staged solo concert Idiot Prayer shot at London’s Alexandra Palace in July and it was given another hit out in cinemas last night for $20 per adult ticket.
Billie Eilish also won rave reviews for her global Where Do We Go? livestream on October 24 and set a benchmark for the concept, using “expanded reality” technology which added mind-blowing projections and animations — including a nightmare-inducing giant spider — to the performance.
ALSO SHOWING
Kylie Minogue launches her new album Disco with the Infinite Disco concert from 8pm on November 7, with tickets for $28.50.
Dua Lipa is throwing her Studio 2052 concert party on November 27. Tickets from $16.99 to $51.50.
Culture Club will stage Rainbow In the Dark – A Global Stream concert on Nov 23. Tickets $33-$352, which includes a virtual meet and greet.
Rufus Wainwright starts a weekly series of concerts on Saturday at 9am which will be a retro romp through his nine records for $28 pre-booked or $35 on show day.
MORE NEWS
How Springsteen wrote his new album in 10 days
Oils tap Adam Goodes’ artist for new album
Ruel urges fans to buy Australian music
Originally published as Niall Horan, Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa point to online concert future with new ticketed model