Voice of London

Concerts in London have been cancelled, leaving music lovers with meaningless tickets and uncertainty. Online concerts have now taken their place, but are they a true replacement?

After the cancellation of their scheduled tours, various musicians have decided to meet their fans virtually. K-pop sensation BTS had a successful online concert on the 10^th and 11^th of October with over 993,000 tickets sold. Ticket prices started from £40 for one day and £65 for a two-day ticket including access to their virtual exhibition.

Billie Eilish is set to have her first online concert on the 24^th of October. “In the show I’ll be bringing you inside my head in crazy XR environments” said the 18-year-old artist on her Instagram. The price of her virtual show – around £20 – got criticised for being expensive.

 Concerts streaming online means location and distance is no longer a problem for attendance. There is no need to change cities or even countries to see your favourite artist. In fact, the comfort of your own room will do. Arguably, concerts are now much more accessible. Of course, at the expense of losing the actual experience. 

Filling a venue with thousands, waiting in lines for hours to make sure you get as close to the stage as possible, getting beers and chips and chatting with people who share one common passion as you – all of this is irreplaceable but also, in the circumstances we’re living in, unthinkable. So online concerts are not a choice fuelled by convenience or laziness, but a desperate call to save the present and future of artists and the music industry. 

Online concerts will never truly be a replacement to the loud music buzzing in your ears, colourful confetti painting the sky and actually seeing your favourite artist. Nevertheless, it is the closest we can get to that feeling, from the safety of our homes.

Here are some mixed reactions from Twitter about online concerts:

Most responses were positive, appreciating the convenience of online concerts and simply having something to look forward to in the midst of the pandemic.

Others defended ticket prices by comparing it with previous ones.

Negative responses complained about high prices and the lack of feeling in online concerts.

Words: Begum Kuruc | Subbing: Zakia N