Scott Duke Kominers, Columnist

Music’s Last Best Hope Lies in Live-Streaming

With big crowds and concerts off limits, there is almost no other way for performers to make money.

August 3, 2020 at 10:30 AM UTC

Scott Duke Kominers is the MBA Class of 1960 Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard University department of economics.

His eyes may be closed, but he sees the future.
Photographer: Larry French/Getty Images North America

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Except for the biggest pop acts, like the Rolling Stones or Rihanna, and a few hot shows like “Hamilton,” musicians have struggled to fill concert halls. But now the entire business of live performance is in trouble, even for the top stars, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic: theaters and performance halls have been closed since March -- and with social distancing in force, they probably won’t open any time soon.

Live performance has been one of the few ways for musicians to make money after cheap streaming services undermined sales of most recorded music. If live performances are off limits, the industry may face its greatest crisis yet.