The global pandemic wreaked havoc on the live music industry with global revenues falling some 75% in 2020 year-on-year.  No concerts, no fan engagement.  It was harsh.  But across the course of last year, artists have gone from playing pianos in their living rooms to performing in high-quality, ticketed live streams. The list included Gorillaz, Pete Tong, Foo Fighters and not forgetting Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 livestream drawing in an impressive 5 million viewers.

US rapper Travis Scott took it a step further with more than 12 million players logging into Epic Games Fortnite to watch Scott's in-game concert and millions more have since watched it via Twitch, YouTube and other streaming platforms

An unprecedented period of innovation and experimentation has created a whole new virtual concert ecosystem.  One that is also able to address the environmental concerns of touring and simultaneously side-step the recent visa fiasco for touring artists in Europe.

Over the last 11 years, NT Live had sold over 11 million tickets worldwide, live streaming 83 shows, in 65 countries. The National Theatre was a godsend for drama lovers during the first lockdown, streaming some of its most famous productions on its YouTube channel for all to see through National Theatre at Home. We were treated to the likes of Tamsin Greig in Twelfth Night, Benedict Cumberbatch in Frankenstein and James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors.

Now, the theatre has built on the global success of NT Live and decided to re-launch National Theatre at Home as a streaming service, with many productions available on demand. Join our panel as we discuss if it’s full stream ahead and what impact this could have on the TV industry and more conventional broadcasters.

Host
Nadine Dereza, Journalist and Presenter

Panel
Lisa Burger - Joint Chief Executive, National Theatre
Mark Mulligan - Managing Director and Analyst, MIDiA Research
James Sutcliffe - Chief Marketing and Content Officer, LIVENow

Producers: Nadine Dereza and Philip Barnes