Image credit: Kieran Webber

Although 2021’s live music prospects hang in the balance Live Nation are confident that 2022 will be an explosive year.

According to reports, the massive booking agent Live Nation has booked nearly double the number of shows for 2022 than it did in all of 2019. 

Among music fans, there is a lot of pent-up demand which is clearly replicated by the artists too who are looking to replace lost income. Not to mention wanting to experience the magic of live music. As 2021 is uncertain, most artists are looking to 2022 as the year that the live music industry finally returns in full form. 

However, with this many tours from bigger artists planned for 2022 it may have a negative effect on smaller shows.

Speaking about the intensity of their schedule for 2022 Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said: “Around the world, people are showing the need to get out and socialize once again which reinforces our expectation that a return to concerts will be the logical progression as vaccines are readily available to everyone who wants to get one.” He adds: “This is generally already the case in the U.S. where we are confidently planning our reopenings, particularly for outdoor shows, and we expect many of our other major markets will follow this summer.”

Rapino also commented: “We are already seeing confirmed major tour dates for 2022 up double digits from the same time pre-pandemic in 2019 for 2020. Many of these artists will have multi-year tours, spanning the U.S., Europe and often either Asia or Latin America, setting us up for a strong multi-year growth run.”