Dancing on a tightrope: Uncertainty, risk perception and trust relationships in the live music industry

In this study, we argue that organizers of live music have increasingly been confronted with uncertainty and risk in the pre-pandemic era and that the pandemic has clearly put them under further pressure. At the same time, live music venues and festivals have proven to be largely resilient to the extreme crisis of an ongoing industry lockdown. Also, the sector’s culture of carefully cultivated forms of active (emotive, interrelational) trust to counterbalance these risks has played an important role in the industry’s resilience and its response to both internal and external uncertainties. We base these conclusions on a framework of theories on uncertainty and risk from both business studies and sociology and in-depth interviews with directors of music festivals and venues in the Netherlands, both before the pandemic and after 16 months of lockdown. This study aims to (1) gain insight into how live music entrepreneurs perceived and experienced uncertainty and risk within the context of a rapidly changing music industry and a volatile and unpredictable market of concerts and festivals – both before the pandemic and at the eve of re-opening after a 16-month lockdown and (2) understand what strategies these entrepreneurs employ to manage these uncertainties and risks.