Live Entertainment Trends to Watch in 2022

2022 is set to be a big year for live entertainment. From concerts and sports games, to festivals and conferences, the country’s event promoters are back on track and giving us plenty to choose from. To make the most of the year’s events in your employee or corporate entertainment strategy, it pays to know what new and exciting things to look out for. So let’s take a second to look at the biggest trends affecting live entertainment in 2022. Live events are impacted by the virus It’s no secret that we’re still in the midst of a pandemic. But rather than giving up and becoming complacent, the sports and entertainment industry continues to adapt and make the best of a difficult situation. While the prospect of new variants like Omicron will always present a degree of uncertainty, the horizon looks bright. Vaccination rates are promising, with over 500 million jabs in the US alone. Venues are taking increased measures to ensure the safety of performers and attendees. And while some events are still being cancelled or postponed, this is happening at a far lower rate than we’ve seen over the last two years. Premium event experiences are getting more popular Given ongoing efforts to provide event attendees a safe experience during the pandemic, event organizers are increasingly turning to premium and more exclusive event experiences. For example, luxury suite tickets for sports games offer an exceptional view of the action, while being away from the crowds in a private area. Such premium experiences are also a great way to engage with prospects or reward high-performing employees, as luxury suites are a great opportunity to talk shop and get to know the other attendees better. If you’re interested in learning more about why luxury suites are so hot right now, check out this blog post. UHD live event streaming Live event streaming is nothing new. That said, the technology that makes streaming possible has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years. Spurred in part by the need for remote viewing during the pandemic, streaming gives event organizers the ability to reach a bigger audience around the world. This is seen in bigger broadcasting players offering ultra-high definition streaming of high profile events, such as NBC covering the 2022 Winter Olympics in 4K HDR for the first time ever. Live events in the metaverse Since Facebook Inc. rebranded as Meta, the metaverse has become one of the biggest technology topics around. And as expected, a virtual world has significant implications for events and live entertainment. We’re probably all too familiar with interactive virtual events watched on a computer screen. (And the “Zoom Fatigue” they can all-too-quickly lead to.) In theory, the metaverse is taking things to the next level: with promises of a fully immersive VR experience that’s exciting, realistic, and inherently social. In practice, however, there’s still a long way to go. Current metaverse events, like a rave that writer Ben Gilbert recently plugged into, still feel awkward, uncanny, and, ultimately, boring. So for the foreseeable future, nothing beats the energy and excitement of an actual, in-person live concert or sports game. Capitalize on live events with TicketOS To ensure your business gets maximum value from its tickets and entertainment assets, consider investing in ticket management software like TicketOS. Our software makes it easy to distribute tickets, monitor utilization, and track distribution. And with easy-to-read reports, you can easily see utilization, identify unused tickets, spot ROI, and promote a more beneficial company-wide ticket utilization strategy. Schedule a TicketOS demo today and learn how our software can solve your ticket management concerns.