We’re contracted to do
backstage catering with
Coachella, Stagecoach, The
Forum, Hollywood Bowl
lease shows, the Greek The-
atre, Dodger Stadium and all
the venues at L.A. Live. The
day before the Strokes show
at The Forum on March 14,
we were out shopping when
I got the call from their team
that the show had been can-
celed. We had a super-busy
season ahead of us — we’re
booked a year in advance
— and within 48 hours the
calendar for the next two to
three months was wiped out.
We have about 50 people
on call, with about 20 whowork constantly. For Coach-
ella, we do job fairs locally
and hire close to 200 people.
They work for us year after
year, look forward to and
depend on it. We have cooks
who are fathers. Now they
don’t know how they’re go-
ing to feed their families. The
heartbreak for me is the guys
who stay with us all year
and count on the work. They
make good money and work
hard, because rock’n’roll is
consistent. But the work’s
just not there right now. It
has vanished.
I have a little savings and
told my workers I can Venmo
them if they’re in a bind. But Idon’t think that’s going to be
enough. Even with Coachella
moved, it’s called “Rockto-
ber” for a reason — it’s one
of the busiest months for
music. We’re quadruple-
booked in October. The
pendulum is going to swing
back, and that comes with its
own set of challenges.
This is a massive loss
because it’s the kickoff of
the season, and most of [our
employees] are coming off
of months without steady
jobs because they were
counting on hardcore work
from now through the fall.
Now they have nothing.
—AS TOLD TO ANDREA DOMANICKPHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MATT CHASETHE CATERER
Shelleylyn Brandler,
owner of Ta-Da! Catering,
is facing a big loss of
business — and a new
set of challenges when
shows start again.38 BILLBOARD • MARCH 28, 2020M
OST LIVE-MUSIC
executives began
the new decade
with an optimistic
outlook, expecting
it to begin with
record grosses
in the touring business. Over the
last month, however, the outbreak
of COVID-19 completely changed
that, as what initially seemed like
a pause for live music turned into
a longer break, then a complete
standstill. Now that, combined with
an increasingly uncertain economy,
is threatening the already fraught
balance of power among concert
giants Live Nation and AEG, the
independent promoters strug-
gling to compete against them and
the major talent agencies that are
already coming to terms with a rap-
idly consolidating business.
In less than a week — starting
with the March 6 cancellation of
South by Southwest (SXSW) and
ending with Live Nation and AEG’s
March 12 decision to temporarily
stop presenting concerts — the live-
music business went from preparing
for a summer with over 50 million
advance tickets sold and a 30% year-
over-year increase in shows sched-
uled to facing a nationwide directive
prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more
people. Overnight, billions of dollars
in ticket revenue and artist payments
were frozen in accounts controlled
by, respectively, Live Nation and
AEG, and the four major talent agen-
cies: WME, Creative Artists Agency
(CAA), Paradigm and UTA.
Everyone else in the business —
indie promoters, staging companies
and food/merchandise vendors —
continued to receive bills but not
the money they were counting on to
pay them.
When concerts do start happening
again, the industry behind them will
have changed significantly. Venue
contracts will be renegotiated to
account for months of inactivity, and
the brands that sponsor tours and
festivals will almost certainly slash
their budgets. Most importantly,
at least some indie promoters (and
promoters that lack the resources of
their larger competitors) may shut-
ter, unable to weather the storm or
get the credit they need to endure it
— leaving their giant rivals with even
more power.
The most immediate change will
be layoffs. A week after Live Nation
and AEG suspended shows, Cirque7fea_coverstory_coronavirus_lo [P]_27818876.indd 38 3/25/20 12:45 AM