The crisis the world faces right now is a great driving force for us to adapt to the new parameters and innovate along the way. Hard times always wake up the inventors and the inventions. History has proven that, time and time again, and what we are facing today is just that – history repeating itself.
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
Sun Tzu – The Art of War
The pandemic threw the music industry off the tracks completely. It is the one that suffered the most, by far. We have never imagined something could ever inflict the damages corona virus did to the music industry. We were not expecting this, at all. Countries locking down their borders, flights being canceled, clubs shutting down, festivals getting canceled and our minds and bodies succumbing into a state of sadness.
Many organizers of the largest music festivals around the world waited up to the very end to determine, together with local authorities, if it is safe to continue or not with the festivals this summer. Certainly, the risks were far too great and they have eventually canceled this year’s editions. Gathering thousands of thousands of people in a relatively small area does not meet the required social distancing imposed by the authorities, in such a way that the virus would not spread among the attendees.
The cancellation of music festivals, the closing of clubs all around the world and people being asked not to leave their houses made the fans of EDM and music in general, beg for a way to escape the situation where there were no more festivals. The things could not stay like this, and the people behind the festivals dealt with this problem. They found a way to get close to their fans and entertain them once again, while keeping it safe for everyone.
Tomorrowland Around the World – A virtual music festival
On Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26, Tomorrowland organized Tomorrowland Around the World, a two-day digital festival which took place in a spectacular new Tomorrowland location called Pāpiliōnem. It is described as a magical island that had long been forgotten that lies in the middle of the ocean, where only Mother Nature rules. It incorporates all possible biotopes, from wintery mountains to summery beaches and mystical forests, all seasons can be found in a single day here.
The digital festival was truly a spectacular work of art and an awesome experience open to people of all ages and places – a world premiere and a major step in the future of digital music festivals. It brought together the planet’s biggest names in electronic dance music and the world’s best technology in 3D design, video production and special effects.
UNTOLD Festival – Broadcast of exclusive never-seen-before sets from their all 5 editions
The Best Major Festival within European Festival Awards 2015, UNTOLD, celebrated this year edition with 4 nights of magic full of exclusive music from the best DJs of the world. Some of their best sets played at the event in the last 5 years, that have never been shared with the fans before, were broadcasted on YouTube for the people of UNTOLD.
The best and most intense memories have been re-lived by the hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world between 30th of July to 2nd of August 2020. The most anticipated set was that of Armin van Buuren who used to play for more than 7 hours straight on the mainstage of the festival, every time.
David Guetta – United at Home – Fundraising
On the 18th of April this year, David Guetta streamed a set of over an hour of music to his fans on the internet from his home in Miami. His livestreams on multiple social media platforms reached over 7 million viewers and also has raised over $700,000 through donations for the World Health Organization, Feeding America, Feeding South Florida, and the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France.
David played a solid festival set that brought together once again, in these turbulent times. Lucky fans were able to join the stream through Zoom and share their vibes with the rest of the world. Oliver Heldens, Martin Solveig, Dannic and other joined in for a few moments, as well.
Later, on the 30th of May, David Guetta streamed another United at Home set, this time from New York. From the top of Rockefeller Center in NY, the second edition of ‘United at Home’ concert, David played a 2h set. Through this livestream, he raised again more than $500,000. On both editions of the concert, David Guetta himself matched the donations and for this one, he got on board sponsors like Heineken, MLS and many more. All the funds donated went towards the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, Feeding America, the World Health Organization, and Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris – Hôpitaux de France.
World Club Dome’s Drive-In Music Festivals
World Club Dome partnered with BigCityBeats to host the first-ever drive-in music festival on 1st of May in Germany. This creative solution to get live music to fans brough hundreds of cars in the parking lot, lined up to experience the music played by DJ Le Shuuk and Tiefblau, Plastikfunk and Topic atop a stage. Pyrotechnics and massive lights were used to recreate a true rave, as well.
Music was streamed to cars via FM radio for the best listening experience. Furthermore, this wasn’t the only drive-in hosted by World Club Dome, as many more drive-in experiences were created for the music lovers.
We do not know when the current pandemic is going to disappear or, at least, when most of the people will become immune to the virus. But, one thing is for sure, this virus only made us realize that the human being is a fragile bag of meat and bones and many more viruses are going to put us in danger as the world population grows and expands in the wild parts of the nature.
With all these things taken in consideration, an important and interesting question should be addressed. How is the music festival of the future going to look like? Technology evolves exponentially as we speak, and virtual reality is set to be a big thing in the decades to come. Imagine putting on some VR glasses and taking part in a virtual music festival with your friends, where you could not make the difference between a real festival and a virtual one. And this is only one of the many possibilities.
Until then, we should always seek to grasp the struggles that get dragged into our lives and get rid of them in new and inventive ways. We should always place ourselves in the position of always finding new ways of solving the problems thrown at us. We should always play the hand we are dealt and expand the threshold of what is possible.
We should all be united as one race and face off together all the challenges we will surely experience and in the end, enjoy the fruits of our cooperation and dance at the music festivals of the future, in whatever form they come. The sky is not the limit and we should all know that. We adapt, so we survive.
