General Season tickets/state of football once this is over.

[Witneyoldfella]

On a personal note I would rollover if possible onto next seasons season ticket., but who knows on that.

 

[Manorlounger]

Mrs Lounger and I are resigned to not seeing anymore football this season. However, we will not be asking for a refund. The club will be struggling anyway and to withdraw money at this stage would just not feel right. I have also got tickets for Wycombe and bought an extra ticket for the Good Friday game for an old mate who comes down once a season for a game and a few beers. We would rather the club keeps the money and puts it toward the still ongoing costs.

This won't be the course of action for everyone but, for us it was an affordable gesture.

 

[werthersoriginal]

The first three for me, and the 'live music' one is especially hard. I enjoy going to gigs and playing them (and even rehearsing!), plus I attend and help to lead a pub music event once every week. That's a huge chunk of my social life. I can't say that an easing of the lockdown restrictions so that Primark, phone shops and the local department store re-open will make any positive difference to my life or state of mind. It is exactly those sport/music live events that I am waiting for, and I suspect they will be the last to return.

Hopefully rehearsing will be possible relatively soon, if the rehearsal place reopens

 

[ZeroTheHero]

That's the same for me. In my mind the season ticket I bought at this time last year is paid for. It is not the club's fault I'll not see as many games as I'd hoped - but then I might have been ill during the season and missed games. I wouldn't have tried to get money back then, and I am thinking of it in the same way. If this helps the club survive, I am content enough.
As with Manorlounger, I appreciate that not everyone can afford to think this way.
I'd like my money back for the away ticket I bought for Wycombe though

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Hopefully rehearsing will be possible relatively soon, if the rehearsal place reopens

That would be good - we might even be vaguely competent then by the time the gigs come around!

 

[Marked Ox]

That's the same for me. In my mind the season ticket I bought at this time last year is paid for. It is not the club's fault I'll not see as many games as I'd hoped - but then I might have been ill during the season and missed games. I wouldn't have tried to get money back then, and I am thinking of it in the same way. If this helps the club survive, I am content enough.
As with Manorlounger, I appreciate that not everyone can afford to think this way.
I'd like my money back for the away ticket I bought for Wycombe though

Likewise, the money has gone and lucky enough to be able to do this.

 

[werthersoriginal]

That would be good - we might even be vaguely competent then by the time the gigs come around!

And i dont see why recording studios couldn't be open by the autumn

 

[holdsteady]

One of the world’s biggest concert promoters have been saying internally for the last two weeks that they’re prepared for NO concerts until a vaccine. I would happily name them but I’m not meant to have been told about the memo, and I’m worried they’ll come here and kill me in my sleep.

Genuinely, if that’s what the live concert / festival industry is braced for, football has no chance.

Just to add, I think it’s going to go the way of sterilised sound stages providing paid live streams from the biggest acts in the world. If there are no events and no ticket sales it only leaves streaming.

Bit off topic and I may be out of touch here but is their a big market for streamed live music with no crowd?

 

[Sarge]

Bit off topic and I may be out of touch here but is their a big market for streamed live music with no crowd?

Stone Foundation did a broadcast ( albeit footage - previously unseen- of an entire gig they played last year , with special guests including Paul Weller, Steve White & Graham Parker) online a coupla weeks ago , they had a virtual merch stall on the night too ... think that had 3-4k watchers/listeners , and about another 1k watched it retrospectively.... they did the broadcast for free , & did 'rather well' on merch sales

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Bit off topic and I may be out of touch here but is their a big market for streamed live music with no crowd?

There is when it’s literally the only option available. If you could have no food at all or some food you don’t like but can stomach, you’ll pick the latter over starving. That’s where the world is going - people can’t have whatever they want on their terms anymore, so choices and habits will evolve.

Live streamed music performances have been growing in recent years, but they’re usually free to view and are aimed at viewership and reach rather than going behind a paywall. If massive stars make a big deal out of doing one and bring out a load of ‘surprises’ and generally roll it in glitter, and it’s that or nothing, it could happen. That or the promoters will stage the event and take their cash through sponsorship.

One thing is for sure - the promoters and the music industry won’t collapse without a fight. Too much money is at stake. Whatever ways there are to try to make money, these people will find them.

 

[SteMerritt]

the promoters and the music industry won’t collapse without a fight

No, long term the industry will be ok, but there is a generation of new bands that may have had a chance who will no find their progress just stops. Bands like Kanadia, The Clause, White Lakes, Otherkin, who are on the brink of going somewhere suddenly have nothing happening possibly for a year. Could be a career ender for a fair few artists. Feel for them.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

No, long term the industry will be ok, but there is a generation of new bands that may have had a chance who will no find their progress just stops. Bands like Kanadia, The Clause, White Lakes, Otherkin, who are on the brink of going somewhere suddenly have nothing happening possibly for a year. Could be a career ender for a fair few artists. Feel for them.

Absolutely. It’s battering a lot of established artists as well, but at least when this thing is over people will want to see them. A dedicated and established fan base is going to count for a lot. It’s going to be really intriguing to see what it all looks like at the end of it.

I have to be honest, though, there are quite a few people quietly flicking the Vs at the live music industry currently. A lot of people in that sector have been crowing for years about how live music is rock solid and untouchable, sloshing champagne around while the labels have spent the last 20 years wrestling with piracy and digitalisation, and the media has had to deal with falling sales and the fact that clicks on websites don’t generate any income. This is definitely a very humbling time for them.

 

[holdsteady]

There is when it’s literally the only option available. If you could have no food at all or some food you don’t like but can stomach, you’ll pick the latter over starving. That’s where the world is going - people can’t have whatever they want on their terms anymore, so choices and habits will evolve.

Live streamed music performances have been growing in recent years, but they’re usually free to view and are aimed at viewership and reach rather than going behind a paywall. If massive stars make a big deal out of doing one and bring out a load of ‘surprises’ and generally roll it in glitter, and it’s that or nothing, it could happen. That or the promoters will stage the event and take their cash through sponsorship.

One thing is for sure - the promoters and the music industry won’t collapse without a fight. Too much money is at stake. Whatever ways there are to try to make money, these people will find them.

The thing I don’t get is that don’t a lot of acts already have a lot of live content (with crowds present) available for free all over the internet? I can see why people might pay to watch a behind closed doors sporting event as that has a bearing on who wins leagues etc, but seeing a band play a song live that you can already watch/listen to them play very easily for free?

I suppose they will have to think of something extra to make it seem worth shelling out for, I struggle to see what though.

 

[SteMerritt]

The thing I don’t get is that don’t a lot of acts already have a lot of live content (with crowds present) available for free all over the internet? I can see why people might pay to watch a behind closed doors sporting event as that has a bearing on who wins leagues etc, but seeing a band play a song live that you can already watch/listen to them play very easily for free?

I suppose they will have to think of something extra to make it seem worth shelling out for, I struggle to see what though.

Difficult one. Social Media tends to be a way to get stuff out there and heard, not with a thought on monitisation, although of course there will be some small income stream from YouTube views. It wouldn't surprise me to see live sets released on Spotify as well, once again this will trickle money in. Small bands however? What would be good would be one of the media outlets putting together a sort of 'jools Holland later from home' type thing, with a mix of established and smaller acts being showcased every week, bigger acts drawing views, then hopefully smaller ones getting some exposure.

 

[Yellow River]

Everyone knows that the presently rescheduled dates won’t happen, but it’s largely been done to buy promoters time before having to process all of those refunds, or hopefully avoiding many of them completely - they’re working like travel agents in that regard - but also because despite what some people have maintained it was true that insurance wasn’t paying out while the government refused to outlaw events. I nearly had a stroke going over all that before, but it’s true! The hope is that the promoters can keep rescheduling and pushing back until a date arrives that starts to stick, and that most people will keep their tickets rather than ask for refunds. They’re basically trying to manage the demand for refunds by pushing it back repeatedly rather than cancelling, so that any refund requests that are valid don’t all happen at once. Flattening the curve, as some might say!

Locally both Cornbury Music Festival (2nd week in July), & Nocturne at Blenheim (3rd week in June) have yet to cancel. Surely just a matter of time?

As an aside we also enjoy attending the various summer beer festivals in and around the county, sadly looks like they will all fail to take place this year.

Think of all the much smaller events such as village fetes and the like which raise money for local schools, clubs and sociities, all going to take a big hit. Or will smaller crowd numbers enable these to go ahead?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Locally both Cornbury Music Festival (2nd week in July), & Nocturne at Blenheim (3rd week in June) have yet to cancel. Surely just a matter of time?

The last I heard a couple of weeks ago from somebody who does PR for a decent size festival (15,000 or so), the cancellation of events ordered by government only covered those scheduled until end of June - the festival they represent is in July - so it could be that they’re doing it in waves. They’re openly saying they know it’s off but they can’t say that until they’re ordered to cancel, otherwise they can’t claim certain insurances as it’ll be seen as optional.

I assume there’s also a psychological approach at play. If events too far in advance are publicly pulled, it probably won’t do some people’s mental health much good feeling like the horizon stretches on indefinitely. Hence why countries are extending their measures and lockdowns by only 2/3 weeks at a time. I’d guess there’s an element of that.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I am sure your last point is correct. If we were told now 'you have to stay in until September and we will review it then' people just wouldn't. I know some people are being selfish already, but humans are social animals and isolating people for long periods (and telling them it might be indefinite) is not good for the mental health of *anybody*. Juggling the danger of the virus, the economy and the well being of the population is not easy, and is going to get harder.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I am sure your last point is correct. If we were told now 'you have to stay in until September and we will review it then' people just wouldn't. I know some people are being selfish already, but humans are social animals and isolating people for long periods (and telling them it might be indefinite) is not good for the mental health of *anybody*. Juggling the danger of the virus, the economy and the well being of the population is not easy, and is going to get harder.

Absolutely. I think a lot of industries that always thought of themselves as rock solid are going to be immensely humbled by this. We’ll see a lot of companies and some entire sectors disappear, I’m sure.

To drag the thread back on track - if the club announced season ticket renewals in the coming weeks, would people buy one? I think I probably would, but I’d be concerned that we’re sleepwalking into a scenario where it becomes clearer and clearer over the summer that people can’t safely go back to stadiums, and therefore we’d have thousands of people who suddenly need refunding. They wouldn’t easily be able to switch your ticket over to a streaming package as different areas of the ground cost different prices, as well as different age groups, some ticket holders live together so giving each person a stream wouldn’t provide equal value anyway... it’s messy. I think that’s why I’m so in favour of them saying they need to just commit to a season of streaming only up front, so they can work out cash flow, sell a product that they’re confident can take place, and have some clarity ahead of time. I genuinely fear for most clubs if they start selling tickets, then have to give all the money back, and scramble like mad to try to put a monetisation structure in place late doors.

So yes, I’d buy my ticket if they went on sale, but only because I’m fortunate enough to be able to and I’d worry about withholding the money all together more than I would what might unfold afterwards.

 

[DannyW]

Do a live streaming season ticket convertible to an attending season ticket when individuals are able to attend matches again. In my case it would be when there is a vaccine. This would give the club an income and give fans the ability to still support the club.

 

[Berliner]

I assume there’s also a psychological approach at play. If events too far in advance are publicly pulled, it probably won’t do some people’s mental health much good feeling like the horizon stretches on indefinitely. Hence why countries are extending their measures and lockdowns by only 2/3 weeks at a time. I’d guess there’s an element of that.

Germany have just banned all large gatherings, thus including football, festivals and (large) concerts until the end of October. So much for keeping people sane!
Then again, they also said we can go shopping (limited floor space) and are cautiously starting some school years again.
Also small religious gatherings are approved coincidentally just before Ramadan...yalla!
Optimism, pessimism, politicism...all present and correct.