How Has COVID 19 Affected The Entertainment Industry?

COVID – 19 pandemic has hit hard to all industries. No industry is safe from COVID. The lock-down made it even worse. For almost a year the entertainment industry has been in a shut-down mode. The turbulence caused to the entertainment industry has not yet been balanced out.

Covid -19 in India was serious in the year 2019. All the sectors of the market were forced to be under lockdown. With no idea about the future, many thought this pandemic will end soon and work will resume back to normal within a few months. But little did they know that till today the pandemic continuous to hit the country hard.

The entertainment industry was the last to be considered important for consumers. It was important for necessities to be provided to the people of the country. The reason why entertain industry is still a hard hit is that to date the entertainment industry is shut. The losses that they are facing are huge and have no idea as to when will the work in this industry resume.

Let’s discuss the details of the entertainment industry

Television channels were the only source of entertainment and source of information during the lock-down period. The consumption of it also increased to a totally different level. Although the consumption increased the profit continued to be the same, this was because with lock-down wages were cut, many salaries were not paid, etc. Therefore, no advertisement or marketing strategies helped the industry in any way.

Theaters, nightlife events in Hyderabad, and every other metropolitan city in India were all at a shutdown amid the lock-down and still haven’t resumed. These are a few industries that are still facing losses and it is a tough time for them.

When the lock-down gradually lifted, even though the restrictions were lifted, it did not do much for the entertainment industry. To be specifically talking about theaters, clubs, and bars, they’re still facing the brunt of the pandemic. Movies are made and people are almost back to their work schedules but these movies are mostly released on the OTT platform.

Movies that are waiting for theatrical release are being pushed depending on how the government eases on its rules and restrictions. No one knows when will this industry start resuming to normal. Before the theaters and nightclubs start resuming they need to be a hundred percent sure of how they will manage to handle all the audience along with maintaining the distance and COVID rules and regulations.

New norms for clubs and pubs

It may sound vague having people wear masks and gloves at theaters and nightclubs. But maybe that could be the new normal. Nightclubs could be highly affected as the dance floors will be shut. People need to maintain distance. Having temperature checked at every club and every place you go to. Some might even start with asking for negative PCR tests on entry. It will all be a difficult and different normal for everyone to adjust to, but maybe that’s how it works these days.

Tourism can attract visitors

Talking about other countries, most developed countries have vaccinated their people and almost all industries are working in the new normal. Some countries like the United Arab Emirates have also started having visitors from its list of green countries.

As long as people are vaccinated and follow the rules and regulations it can ease the lock-down much more. It will surely take a lot of time for the situation to get back to what it was but as of now to follow the rules of mask and gloves is a new normal. Shortly, clubs or pubs can allow fully vaccinated people to enter as it will be much safer than allowing the general public.

Therefore, in conclusion, all industries have been a hard hit due to the pandemic and lock-down. Not to forget even freelancers like top DJ artists in Hyderabad and other cities, have also been deeply affected as there is no source of income for them.  But the worst has been surely the entertainment industry which still hasn’t started earning. It will take time for them to cover their losses but that will also happen once they resume work. Keeping hygiene, maintaining social distance, sanitization are all extra costs that the theaters and nightclubs need to add to their budget. It will take time to get back at par but it will only happen once resumed for new normal.