The Cambridge Dictionary announced perseverance as its Word of the Year 2021 because it captured the undaunted will of people across the world to never give up, despite many challenges. 

For Eventbrite’s Music Council, perseverance also symbolizes the attitude of many music business owners at the start of the new year. While 2022 is sure to bring more uncertainty, the council’s January kick-off highlighted a few consistent themes that have inspired them to push forward.

    • Fans are reevaluating the cost of connecting. Attending a show is no longer about simply the cost of the ticket to the show. Even if the industry is ready to have fans back, music business owners must consider that audiences also need to gauge their own level of readiness before returning to in-person events. To help manage the uncertainty, one actionable step you can take right now is to clearly communicate the steps you are taking to ensure risk is managed. Re-stating or updating your approach to audience safety will help reinforce your standards with audience members who are still evaluating their level of comfort in attending an in-person event. 
    • Go straight to the source. While everyone is eager to reconnect, not all attendees are rushing back to events, which makes it difficult to plan for demand when booking shows and other resources. In addition to creating more touch points to regularly engage with your customer base, using live or near-real time surveying tools such as social media polls, newsletter surveys, and integrated survey tools such as SurveyMonkey will help you better understand if your audience is comfortable returning to live shows and what safety precautions will help put them at ease. 
    • Planning for uncertainty. Many of Eventbrite’s Music Council members shared that they are still considering how to plan for the year ahead from both the artist and promoter perspective. A few tactics they are testing include:

For artists:

      •  Playing smaller venues where they can better anticipate capacity. 
      • Anticipating limited venue availability due to high touring activity, and either planning to play shorter runs of dates or booking dates further out in advance.

For venues and promoters:

      • Mitigating risk by booking a heavier mix of known acts with built-in, established audiences.
      • Booking fewer events even as touring schedules are busier than ever, knowing that uncertain public demand could lead to overextending on booking commitments.