The shared experience concerts aim to deliver is celebration, not contagion. As coronavirus goes global the live music industry faces an earnings risk. Acts such as Korean pop phenomenon BTS have cancelled shows, urging fans to avoid their promotional appearances. The huge Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai is shuttered. Investors should follow fans out of the stadiums.
The epidemic is terrible news for the music industry. This pivoted into live performance for its earnings after the internet gave fans free or low-cost access to recordings.
Promoters in China have cancelled 20,000 concerts as authorities scramble to contain the virus. To put that into perspective, Live Nation Entertainment — the world's largest concert promoter — made most of its income from about 26,000 concerts in the first three quarters last year.