One of the many casualties of the current pandemic has been live music performance. Starting in early February major tours began to be cancelled, clubs and dance-halls shuttered, and large gatherings of all types were put on hold. Though a few “socially distanced” (or perhaps not especially distanced…) indoor and outdoor performances have taken place in recent weeks, in general the whole industry remains shut down.
While certain MI market segments have actually benefitted from lockdown (guitars, ukuleles, hand percussion, home recording gear, et cetera), anything directly related to concerts and the like has taken an absolute beating. It’s not surprising, then, that sales of lighting and stage effects this year are drastically diminished, but we checked in with dealers to see what brands and types of products are still moving – even if at far lower volume.
“Par 64 LED cans are ‘king of the hill’ nowadays followed closely by good ‘ol fog
machines.”
Jerry Vesely
Vesely Music Co.
Parowan, Utah
“Sadly, lighting sales over the past six years have dropped to the lowest item of
our mixed stock range!”
Robert Rivers
Havant Music Mart
Havant, Hampshire
United Kingdom
“DJs and clubs are our primary customers and they usually look for the newest technology in lighting.”
David St. John
Music & Arts
Glendora, California
