COVID-19 has had massive effects across many industries, and the music industry is no different. Musicians and music-lovers alike have been affected by the pandemic.

Due to social distancing guidelines and limits on the number of people in a small area, concerts have been postponed or canceled worldwide. However, people have found an alternative: hosting concerts online. Online concerts have been around for a while but have recently become the main way for artists to perform and for people to enjoy the music. In fact, it has its perks over in-person concerts.

“Anyone in the world can join. There’s no travel, no quarantining measures, and you can chat with people,” said UK artist Protostar.

Online concerts have made it easier and more accessible for people who may not have time or the money to attend regular concerts. The chats that go along with the livestreams can also allow for audience members to communicate with each other, which provides a level of enhancement that in-person concerts don’t provide. Even the musicians have a good time.

“I think I definitely prefer in person, but performing online for people was still a lot of fun and I actually really enjoyed it,” said senior Keith Pennel, whose band performed online on July 1 and 2.

However, not everything is as good. A lot of the main features of in-person concerts, like the hype, the sheer volume, and the energy is lost in online concerts.

Teacher Jeff Church said, “You don’t get the ‘religious experience’ and euphoria that you would when attending live concerts.”

There is also the bigger problem of a lack of income for musicians. Protostar said,“For most people, it would be pretty much half their income over the year or likely even more, like 2/3rds down. Shows are a very large part of how most artists make a living.”

The lack of concerts obviously would have massive repercussions for musicians if they weren’t able to make money, but some fans have tried to help. Church has purchased merchandise from several bands in order to support them, however that isn’t something everyone can do, especially during this pandemic.

Many people also have experienced a lack of ticket refunds for concerts that were supposed to happen during the past few months. Church said, “Out of five shows I have tickets for still, only one has canceled and given a refund. The others have or will potentially reschedule in 2021.” This could cause problems because no one can know what might happen in the future, so they want their money back.

People also prefer the live experience over online. Protostar and Pennel both chose performing live over doing shows online, and Church would attend a live show over an online one. However, there still are concerns about safety, even after guidelines get rolled back.

“I won’t attend any concerts until there is a vaccine and most people have taken it. And I’ll likely only attend outdoor or very small concerts before any large indoor ones,” said Church. “I want to be sure the environments are safe. I love music, but I have to put the health of my family and friends first.”