As many concerts are being canceled or postponed, many live event production companies are finding ways to boost their income until large gatherings are back again. One of the industries they are entering now is the healthcare industry to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Shifting to Healthcare
Matt Hyman, VP of the event production company LNKBOX is now heading a new response group named Production 4 Health. He launched the group this month to connect event industry professionals with their counterparts in healthcare to help the industry in building essential facilities, shipping goods, waste management, tenting, permitting, and other services.
His company is known for working with major events like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Electric Daisy Carnival. LNKBOX also worked with sporting events like the games of football team Denver Broncos.
"Our brothers and sisters in the production world are losing everything," Hyman said. "Every day that goes by, the likelihood of them going out of business increases. So if we can find a way to get these people an opportunity to fight another day, why wouldn't we do it?" Hyman added.
He continued that he needed his people to help the frontliners since his people have every skill set required to build something that is necessarily quick and effective. He added that the cities focus on public health, and they will handle building facilities to treat coronavirus patients.
Another production company owner Warner Anderson joined Hyman's team. Anderson collaborated with LNKBOX to organize the Production 4 Health project. He owns the WA Event Management company. He told Billboard that he lost 90% of his and his company's works last month due to the pandemic.
Choura Events, another company, saw a similar opportunity to switch to healthcare. The company built many facilities for the PNB Paribas tennis tournament in Indio, CA, near the venues of Coachella and Stagecoach. Owner Ryan Choura told Billboard that he and his crew were devastated at the issue when they spent four months to make the event only to find out it was canceled. But they are now helping in making hospital extensions and testing sites in Southern California.
Choura believes that the music industry, especially concerts, will never be the same. He added that they need to innovate so they can teach their customers what revival is going to look like eventually.
Aside from Hyman's group, a coalition of 110 event production companies were formed to offer help in the healthcare industry. The group was called Live for Live. According to Rolling Stone, they are putting up materials and manpower for 3D-printed medical devices, personal protective equipment and building larger facilities for temporary hospitals.
The shift of production companies to healthcare serves to keep people safe from mass gatherings in the time of the pandemic. According to Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, mass gatherings could not safely resume until 2021. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti echoed this and said that live events like concerts might not resume until next year in the city.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
