The music industry has been hit hard by coronavirus with live performance revenue the biggest casualty. As long as bans on large gatherings continue, live performance will not take place. The music industry is also subject to reductions in advertising spending that are happening worldwide. There is a growing list of artists worldwide, delaying releases to later in the year/next year. In part, this is due to the inability to use tours to promote new albums, and live music in general has been dramatically affected.

In this current scenario, music industry is finding new ways to engage with fans. Now, artists are going direct to the fans from their own homes, using services like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and others. This is not new, but the pandemic has expanded the audience available and accelerated underlying trends in the music industry.

As music consumption is increasingly digital, there is a growing role for third-party platforms in shaping music distribution, discovery and consumer behavior. Just recently, the famous game Fortnite hosted a live rap concert that attracted almost 30 million live viewers, underlining the potential for cross-industry partnerships to engage users and promote artists in a new way. In Pakistan, we still need to see such collaborations on a large scale. However, some effort has been made by artists themselves by collaborating with various actors and musicians online. Are virtual concerts a reality?

In this session, we will be discussing the way forward for Pakistan’s music industry with our esteemed panelists:

1. Zeb Bangash - Singer, Musician and Songwriter

2. Faiza Mujahid - Singer & Songwriter

3. Natasha Noorani - Singer/Musician & Co-Founder Lahore Music Meet

4- Natasha Baig- Singer & Co-Founder of Laal Series, a Production Company.

Session will be moderated by Sophiya Anjam (Radio/TV/Event Host)