Coachella Festival called off, Glastonbury Festival scratched off from the calendar.  

The coronavirus pandemic has greatly impacted the global music industry with no big shows in sight. One after another, major international festivals are either being pushed back or canceled outright. Billions of dollars are therefore at stake.

In many Chinese cities, including Beijing, live music venues are slowly reopening. With the easing of restrictions, entertainment producers are hoping to jumpstart the music economy with local talent, since bringing in artists from abroad is out of the question for now. 

CGTN's Louisa Lee sat down with A.J, the project director of Showstart from Taihe Music Group, to find out what music labels and organizers are doing to stay afloat. 

Based on figures from Showstart, China's top online ticketing platform, ticket sales of live concerts in the first half of 2020 decreased to one-sixth of the same period in 2019, with performances cut from 7,000 shows to fewer than 2,000. 

Nevertheless, A.J is confident that the industry will come through this crisis. On the bright side, with the local music industry navigating through the new norm and with a shift in revenue, up-and-coming talent is being given an opportunity to be heard. 

As to whether people will resort to watching online live-streaming shows or attending drive-in concerts, he says that music lovers will always have an appetite for live music because of the energy it brings.

When borders reopen and stars can shout into microphones again, A.J believes that fans will welcome returning international musicians with open arms and even greater enthusiasm.