SOILWORK Singer Says ‘Middle-Sized Bands Will Be Hit The Hardest’ By Concert Industry Shutdown

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

In a new interview with Decibel magazine, SOILWORK singer Björn "Speed" Strid was asked how he thinks the COVID-19 pandemic will affect touring in 2021. He responded: "I think it will be very tough. The middle-sized bands will be hit the hardest. They've already been hit very hard by it. I'm talking about the bands that didn't have day jobs. They will be forced to make a decision, and when things get back to normal, they won't be able to come back. I think the little bands with day jobs will survive. I think the very big bands will also survive. But I do expect a very serious impact to music — a lot of bands will die out. I hope that doesn't happen. All signs are pointing to that happening, which is just terrible. Hopefully, the vaccine will do the trick, but I expect everybody going out at the same time, and it will just start all over again. I don't even want to think about that right now." Some industry experts believe that artists will be able to return to the road as early as spring 2021. Last month, Ticketmaster announced a framework for post-pandemic fan safety that uses smart phones to verify fans' vaccination status or whether they've tested negative for the coronavirus within a set window of time. The coronavirus pandemic hit the entertainment industry hard as concert venues and theaters were forced to close the doors in accordance with social distancing regulations. Ticketing and promotion giant Live Nation Entertainment — which operates both Live Nation and Ticketmaster — reported a 95% drop in revenue in its third quarter compared to the same time last year. The report also showed that Live Nation still has $2.6 billion, including $951 million in free cash. It stated: "This free cash, along with $963 million of available debt capacity, provide the company with over $1.9 billion in available liquidity. The company believes this level of liquidity provides it with the ability to fund operations until the expected return of concerts at scale in the summer of 2021, preceded by ticket sales earlier in the year." Pfizer recently said results from a Phase 3 trial shows its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90 percent effective. The seasonal flu vaccine, by comparison, prevents illness 40 percent of the time. SOILWORK released a new EP, "A Whisp Of The Atlantic", on December 4 via Nuclear Blast.