FEATURE:
Setting the Stage…
IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa at Lollapalooza 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Pooneh Ghana
Hoping for Financial Recovery and Strengthening of the Live Music Scene This Year
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I am going to bring in…
IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Rodrigo on stage in 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Pooneh Ghana
a recent article from The Guardian who spoke to the legendary and hugely admired Los Angeles-based photographer Pooneh Ghana, and her observations about the live music scene. As someone who started out photographing smaller acts and now has captured everyone from Dua Lipa to IDLES, she has this unique perspective when it comes to crowds and how the scene and structure has changed since the pandemic started in 2020. It is an interesting insight from one of the most respected and talented music photographers around. I have used a few of the images from the article and, as always, I am making no profit from them at all. I want to use them to illustrate the fine work of Pooneh Ghana, and the fact the struggles and problems in live music are affecting photographers and others. First, here is some of that interview from The Guardian:
“Touring has really taken its toll on everyone. I hope that bands can find a more sustainable way to do what they love and the fans don’t have to pay $100 a ticket to go see these artists because ultimately it affects each other,” she says.
She notices musicians facing increased financial pressure from a broken industry. “It’s crazy – you hear about how basically if you’re not selling out a 3,000-, 4,000-capacity room tonight, you’re not even breaking even on tour. Hearing how much bands are struggling has been really tough.
“Obviously there’s something broken in the system when bands are not only unable to afford to live, but they’re also canceling shows because they’re being pushed so hard,” she says.
As touring musicians have taken a hit, so have the photographers who rely on them for work. “Every music photographer I’ve spoken to this year is so tired. None of us predicted it, so I think we’re all just really tired, but really grateful for things to be kind of back at the extent they are.”
IN THIS PHOTO: A brilliant shot taken during The Viagra Boys’ tour in 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Pooneh Ghana
The first live music Ghana shot in 2020 was two days before the year ended: two nights of livestreamed performances featuring Black Pumas and Maggie Rogers at the Wiltern. “It was a full production performance to no one, but they needed live shots,” says Ghana. “Looking back and seeing an empty theater was so jarring.”
In early 2021, Ghana shot a cover photo of a pregnant Juliette Jackson for the Big Moon’s recent album Here Is Everything. She traveled to meet Jackson in London when the world was still reeling from the pandemic. Covid compliance required an extra level of planning – double vaccinations and two weeks of quarantining.
“The first tour I did back [after Covid protocols were lifted in late 2021] was six weeks with Idles. Idles shows are crazy. People were wearing masks, but for the most part people were just kind of letting loose. It was chaos, the guys are going into the crowd all the time. But within those six weeks nobody got Covid, miraculously.
“Then I did another tour a few months down the road where it was like a strict Covid bubble and nobody was allowed to leave and it ended up getting canceled the last week and a half because somebody tested positive.”
The diminished number of live music photographers and tour crew members who managed to get through the financial dry spell have faced a surge of live shows in 2022 – bands are trying to make up for lost opportunities and newer acts are vying for a shot. It’s been a busy year for Ghana, who now approaches her work with a new sensibility.
“I’ve started to pay attention to the environment more, especially post-Covid. It’s just so fascinating looking at what the crowds are like and how the crowds react to being at a show or you know, the lead singer spitting beer into the crowd.”
She is cautiously optimistic about the future and hopes artists and their crews will find a way to persevere, despite the uphill battle. “The music scene is such a community where everyone from the sound engineers to the photographers to the fans to the managers are all in this ecosystem that is fragile, but there’s also a support system through it”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Joshua Hanson/Unsplash
Maybe Ghana is established enough that she will be okay, but it would have been tough during 2020 and 2021. With few gigs taking place, there is still recovery happening at the start of 2023. Whilst artists, to an extent, had an option to live-stream gigs and earn a small amount of money virtually, the situation was bleaker for live crews, photographers and those who work at venues. It is apparent that artists are being pushed to the limit. As I wrote last year, many have had to cancel and reschedule dates because of exhaustion and mental health issues. The same is happening with photographers. After a scary 2020 and 2021, last year was especially hectic and busy. The reality is that, unless you can fill stadiums and huge venues, you have to tour relentlessly. Many are not breaking even and, for stars as big as Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa, they may be comfortable enough financially, but the demand on them is huge. Almost catching up still, the physical and emotional toll is enormous. There is that pressure to deliver to fans and not ‘let anyone down’. Not that they are! It is a shame that hard-working crews and artists have endured a tough year. I am not sure what systems are in place in the U.S., but I do worry whether there is going to be adequate financial aid for artists, venues and crews this year. It is still a time of rehabilitation and recovery after the pandemic. Even without that, I feel artists are touring more and pushing themselves at a time when there is demand and a lot of competition. Also, I don’t know how much artists will earn from individual gigs when all other costs have been deducted.
IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg at Union Pool in Brooklyn, December 2021/PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
The situation is more severe for smaller artists. It was interesting reading that interview from The Guardian where Pooneh Ghana reacts to the reality that the diminished number of live music photographers and tour crew have faced a surge of live shows in 2022. Fewer people but more shows means there is that extra work and pressure. I wonder whether the industry will be replenished so that there is an easing for those who have shouldered a lot more. Bands are trying to make up for lost opportunities and newer acts are vying for a shot, it seems. This is the first year when there seems to be no threat or delays because of COVID-19. We will rely on Government financing and support for venues. I can understand the desire for artists to gig a load and see their fans, but this a strange situation where they are barely making any more and performing more than they ever have. Artists like Sam Fender and Wet Leg have had to cancel gigs because of the effect they have felt from an especially frantic 2022. This year does look more promising, but we need the brilliant and innovative photographers at their very best. Those documenting the artists delivering something extraordinary from the stage. The same goes for the crews and those at venues that make shows run smoothly. More than anything, we need the bigger artists at their peak, but we need smaller artists to get their space and share. I guess, the more artists that come through, the tougher it is to get noticed. Things have changed since 2019, and there has been a need to adapt. Live music has been so important to so many music fans, and we all want it to flourish. It does seem, happily, that this year…
PHOTO CREDIT: fandrejevic/Unsplash
LOOKS a lot brighter.