The New Normal

With festivals projected to be dead until fall 2021, concerts indefinitely postponed, movie theaters shuttered and big-budget films seeing straight-to-digital releases, COVID-19 has completely upended the entertainment industry. Artists and companies are scrambling to find innovative ways to reach their fans as we all adjust to the new normal.

- JACINTA HOWARD

It’s 9 p.m. EDT on a Monday night, and more than a half a million people are glued to Instagram Live to watch Teddy Riley and Babyface battle with their extensive catalogs. Just two months prior, such an event likely wouldn’t have drawn those numbers—or happened at all, period.

Weeks before, D-Nice showed everyone what was possible during a pandemic when his DJ set drew more than 100,000 people, including Michelle Obama, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and presidential contender Joe Biden.

In a time when information changes by the day, one thing is certain: COVID-19 has changed everything, and the way we consume entertainment is no exception.

Widespread social distancing orders means closed clubs and bars, canceled festivals and concerts, and shuttered movie theaters. Gone are the days of celebrities thriving on in-person fan interaction. Livestreaming everything is the new norm—be it conferences, DJ sets or virtual concerts.

Although in the U.S., the number of total on-demand streams from Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora dropped about 10 percent, according to data from BuzzAngle, streaming on platforms that allow interaction with other people is up. According to an April report from analytics firms StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet, Amazon’s Twitch streaming platform broke several records during quarantine, hitting all-time highs in hours watched, hours streamed and concurrent viewers.