Live music concerts are starting to reemerge after nearly two years of hiatus.
Following three rounds of vaccinations and a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, the first post-pandemic music event was held in January at half the audience capacity. The licensing of music albums and singles by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has gathered momentum ever since, Otaghiranonline.ir reported.
The 37th edition of Fajr International Music Festival was held at 30% audience capacity and featured 63 bands, 1,690 artists, and 69 performances in six concert halls of Tehran.
Concert tickets are being priced at 1-4 million rials ($3.6-$14.5), which figure many music industry players believe would take music out of households’ consumer basket.
“Concert halls are offering services at higher prices now,” Mohammad Hossein Tootoonchian, a music producer, said, adding that their costs are divided into expenses related to the concert halls and production. “Production services, including stage, lighting and sound, have been delegated to the private sector. With the appreciation of the dollar and the rise in the costs of imports, a price increase of under 100% is not cost-effective for the private sector; they sometimes cannot afford to pay their employees,” he said.
“Under the current conditions, concert halls should increase [the costs of their services] by 50-60%. But with the 100% rise in the costs of private sector contractors, the income of producers has halved. As only half the capacity of concert halls is used, a balance should be struck between the costs and ticket prices to put the least amount of pressure on the public.”
According to the latest statistics of the Statistical Center of Iran, only 0.3% of households’ budget was spent on entertainment and cultural services in the fiscal 2020-21; it is not clear how much of it pertained to music
According to the latest data of the Statistical Center of Iran, only 0.3% of households’ budget was spent on entertainment and cultural services in the fiscal 2020-21; it is not clear how much of it pertained to music.
SCI also says 73.8% of people of ages 15 and above listened to music last year. Mobile phone was the most popular device for listening to music with 59.5%, suggesting that Iranians spent the least amount of money on listening to music.
A survey conducted by the Research Center for Culture, Art and Communications shows that 33.9% of respondents to the question, “How do you usually get the songs of a music album?”, said they downloaded them free from the internet; 19.4% through online shopping; 17.6% by shopping from music and book stores; 11.6% recorded their music from radio and television; 9.8% borrowed from their friends and acquaintances, and 7.5% through shopping from other stores.
Given the 40% increase in costs and inflation, it seems that the small share of music in the Iranian households’ consumer basket will shrink even further. However, Tootoonchian believes that although producers may not benefit, the point that music industry has returned from the dead after two years is good enough.
“Many families will make a living, directly or indirectly once concerts gain momentum again,” he said.
According to SCI’s latest report on inflation in Iran, the Consumer Price Index of “leisure and culture” group stood at 497.1 in the month to March 20, indicating a 1.1% rise compared with the month before.
The index, with a coefficient of 1.65%, registered a year-on-year increase of 27.3%. The group’s annualized inflation stood at 39.9%.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the global music industry, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Numerous music events, including music festivals, concert tours and award shows, have been cancelled or postponed.
While some musicians and composers were able to use the time to create new works, there were flow-on effects on the many supporting people who relied on performers for their income.
Various album releases have been delayed as well. Pollstar estimated the total revenue lost by the live music industry in 2020 at more than $30 billion.
