Live entertainment business leaders say they must do more than persuade cautious audiences that it’s safe to go out in a crowd: With or without a mask, they say the long pandemic – and its trailing economic woes – has fueled a trend among younger audiences to crave experiences over things.
That means even though there’s a pent-up desire to get out there, the live entertainment business has to raise the quality of the experience, both to meet audience expectations and compete with streaming, which also raised the bar during the pandemic.
Ross Gerber, president & CEO of Gerber Kawasaki and Jamie Weston, EVP and chief marketing officer at On Location spoke on a panel. He said that live entertainment purveyors are now observing the next generation of consumers. “will live in their parents’ basement so they can use their money for experiences.”
Weston stated that On Location helps entertainment brands like lifestyle, sports, and music create an event that meets their expectations. “We work with everyone from the NFL, the Olympics, UFC, big sports, music, and lifestyle brands to create a high-end, high touch personal experience around that event,”Weston spoke.
Francesca Bodie, president, business development, Oak View Group (OVG), which she described the largest developer of arenas in the world with many properties in the Las Vegas area, said the company often finds a disconnect between older venues and the expectations of today’s audiences. It’s about making sure a venue provides a seamless experience, including conveniences such as food vending and merch shopping, “not because we want to, but because the fans are demanding it.
“The age of the buildings is showing much faster,”She added. Buildings dating back to 20 years ago “look old and they look tired,”These are not always designed for paperless and cashless environments. OVG can create new revenue streams for an arena by updating or creating new arenas. OVG also has the potential to name key areas within an arena.
Jason Richman is the SVP and head music at IMAX Entertainment. He said that even a futuristic company such as IMAX must make sure that the venues they use to showcase their new product are equally cutting-edge.
“The beautiful thing about this conversation is that all those (innovations) provide top line framing for IMAX,”He stated. “We’re a global leader in camera technology and distribution infrastructure with 1600 locations across 11 countries. So when filmmakers spend massive amounts of time and creative energy and create these beautiful experiences for fans.”He stated that the company had dubbed its most recent phase of presentation. “IMAX 3.0.”
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