Experts and Live Entertainment executives spoke about the cultural success of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour – both of which are dominating the zeitgeist and will likely soon do the same at the box office – at TheGrill 2023.
The panel, titled “Reimagining Live Entertainment: Presented by Gerber Kawasaki,” featured a conversation between Forjindam, Gerber Kawasaki President and CEO Ross Gerber, WME Head of Music Levi Jackson, and Kevin Hart’s Production Company President and Chief Distributor, moderated by Hartbeat. TheWrap co-executive editor Adam Chitwood. Forjindam, where the deep live performance segues into concert documentaries from Swift and Beyoncé, which will be distributed by AMC in October and December, respectively.
She traced that the desire to come and appear at concerts comes from the desire “ a shared emotional experience to match the brand and the artists who reflect who they are, in their ideology, in their consumer spending, in their lifestyle, in their sexuality.”
Forjindam also noted that the level of commitment to trends in pastel, glitter and silver outfits, as well as investment in concerts led by experienced performers, is driven by more than just the desire to see the performances themselves.
“It can’t just be about seeing artists, there has to be something deeper and it has to be a shared experience that allows you to feel authentic and have freedom of choice. A lot of what we’re seeing now, the major studios are saying, ‘It’s not just about interacting with our audience, it’s about re-engaging,'” she said. “It’s about transforming consumer spending that turns our IPs or worlds into something like an ecosystem that has a loyalty base. So how do you make it a physical destination? Whether it’s a concert, a museum or a theme park? How do you take all these principles and turn them into an income generating or entertainment center? Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have highlighted that this is possible and that women can lead the way.”
Ross Gerber praised Forjindam’s work as something of a visionary and an excellent forecast of the direction live entertainment would take. At one point it was mentioned that some were blaming Swift for inflation and the Fed raising rates in response to Levy or Clanagan talking about a potential recession that loomed earlier in the year.
“You can’t quantify the impact, you can’t quantify the emotional connection that resonates, and if people choose to attach value or support the value that you represent, that means there’s promise. You say you’re going to get everything from me, you’re going to get my full catalogue, you’re going to get the entertainment, the technology, all the VIP stuff, it’s kind of an experience overlay that delivers on that promise because as opposed to just pumping it up,” Forjindam said. “People change their behavior. They are extremely insightful. They don’t want nonsense. They want to come and have an immersive, deep experience that allows them to have agency and authenticity and see that in what they do.”
When asked whether concert documentaries influence initial concert sales or, as in the case of comedians like Kevin Hart, early stand-up shows before the specials hit streaming platforms like Netflix, Clanagan said it’s important to repeat this experience, which in any case does not detract from sales. .
“This is the next part where people are sitting at home and watching live broadcasts on their computers. We talked about this – now they want to share their experience. Maybe they can’t go to Taylor Swift and physically can’t get there. They can’t afford to be there. But it’s a lot cheaper in movie theaters,” Clanagan said. “Why not spend 30 or 40 dollars to go to the theater with friends and see it and you’ll have to worry about missing out on tickets, you’ll still get a decent event and if you manage to go you’ll have a chance to survive it’s anew. again.”
“(There is) absolutely zero chance that this will impact ticket sales. That’s one of the things we started, we put out some Kevin Hart specials in theaters. What happens is (people go) to theaters at the end of the tour,” Clanagan added. “What happens is we talk about lived experience. there’s still a huge audience that maybe wouldn’t go to the stadium to see Taylor or Beyoncé because of the ticket prices or whatever, but also the people who went to the shows really want that experience in the theater . “It’s just another touch point for the consumer to share their experience at that cinema, but it hasn’t had any impact on negative ticket sales.”
Jackson attributed re-watching or attending both concerts and then documentaries to supply and demand.
“I think about your point about demand: we’re dealing and talking about artists whose demand is so high that they’re not really meeting the supply because of the number of sold out shows,” Jackson concluded. “You look at Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Beyoncé Taylor Swift. Millions of people are missing out on these shows and tickets, so if this can come along and fill some of that void just for the people who missed out, not to mention those who want to go again, I think that’s only a good thing. thing.”
This meeting of the minds also explained why the problems with Ticketmaster are so difficult to solve, especially for one musician. They also discussed live performances in the context of The Sphere, the new venue where U2 just played in Las Vegas.
Watch the full panel below.
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