NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 20: 2022 New Year’s Eve numerals arrive in Times Square on December … [+]
I have been writing a story a week consistently for Forbes over the past year. Here, as the year ends is a look at some of the stories which are worth revisiting.
My most popular story to date is about Taylor Swift’s marketing prowess, something which was eclipsed this year by her work ethic, turning out new albums during the pandemic, while re-recording her catalogue of songs for which the rights were held by others.
The Guru: Taylor Swift
There is nothing easy about shutting down an entire industry, but that is exactly what happened to live entertainment in March 2020, and it did not really start back up with any volume until April 2021. Surviving such an unimaginable twist of fate is a Dickensian test of character. Here are stories I wrote about those leaders.
The Leaders: Michael Rapino, Dan Beckerman, Amy Howe, Curtis Cheng, Tariq Charif & Matt Zingler
Sometimes, when the world changes swiftly, change happens in ways which no one expected. This year we saw secondary ticket marketplace Vivid Seats go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation, YellowHeart made the idea of blockchain ticketing a reality, and Round Room demonstrated that parents will do almost anything for their children, even those too young to remember the event beyond nap time. Also, social media became a network for musicians, outsiders to the ticketing space created a new and easier software protocol for ticketing and mobile digital shopping entered the realm of entertainment.
The Innovators: Todd Boehly & Stan Chia/Vivid Seats, Josh Katz/Yellow Heart, Stephen Shaw & Jonathan Linden/Round Room, Elmo Lovano/JammJam, Simon Hennes, Jens Tiechert & Simon Weber/Vivenu and Moska Fitzgibbons/NTWRK.
Finally, live entertainment is really about the shows. Below are my three favorite pieces reported from shows I attended this past year.
The Events: New York City Welcome Back Concert, Bottle Rock, Steve Earle & Bruce Springsteen at John Henry’s Friends Fundraiser.
As 2021 draws to a close and the world waits nervously to see how 2022 begins, I remain hopeful. We survived a global pandemic, the economies of the world and borders everywhere closed for longer than anyone could imagine, and new variant after new variant reminding us that nature prevails no matter what the talking heads on television say. Collectively, we the fans of entertainment and we the people of this planet will be making decisions about how we face risk and manage disease. I’ve been with you all as we stared into the abyss, and as we celebrated the false starts which brought hope followed by disappointment. I’ll still be here next year trying to help make sense of it all. I leave you at the end of 2021 with this simple thought written so many years ago by John Lennon and Paul McCartney “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” As my first act of writing in anticipation of 2022, I say to each of you that opinions may vary, only love is the truth. You are all in my heart. Be safe, be well and know you are loved.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericfuller/2021/12/31/the-year-in-review-new-years-eve-2021-edition/