Why you should get on that Zoom call with a European colleague in the music industry today

It took a virus to teach the music industry how to do video calls.

In Europe restrictions are slowly being lifted for live music venues. The future might not look as bright as we had hoped yet, but at least we are looking at a future. Not too long ago that wasn’t the case.

Rebuilding a European live music scene will take a lot of effort.

More than ever it will require international cooperation between cities, music venues and media.

• Cities are putting policies into place to encourage live music. Governments should help music venues to thrive again. It makes sense for policy makers to talk to their European counterparts to learn from each other how to do that.
• Music venues can leverage the fact that the next year is going to be mostly about smaller local shows. They should work together on a European level to set up tours for European bands.
• Radio stations and broadcast media in Europe now have the chance to promote European artists more than ever. Ideally live music bridges the gap between broadcast media and people meeting in real life again. This too will require international cooperation.

The next couple of years are going to be about rebuilding music scenes.

Undoubtedly there will be a focus on localism. But at the same time we have to make sure that we learn from each other more than ever.

Localism cannot mean parochialism.

If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that our international partners are but a Zoom call away these days.

So let’s invent this future together.
Who are YOU giving a call today?