Louis Tomlinson from UK set a new Guinness World record for the most tickets sold for a livestreamed concert by a single male artist in December 2020. Throughout the pandemic, the singer whipped up a frenzy among his fans, selling 160,000 tickets for his Live from London charity show around the world.
On December 12, 2020, Tomlinson's concert was livestreamed from an unidentified venue in London and published on the concert platform Veeps. The British musician and member of the international success One Direction had just released his first solo album, Walls, at the moment. The event received more than $1 million in less than an hour, with eighteen songs sung.
Following the challenges of the 2020 pandemic, which halted the live music industry for about two years, Tomlinson's touring team earned a percentage of the revenues.
The 18-song performance included songs from the singer's debut solo album Walls (due out in early 2020), and also the live debut of "Copy of a Copy of a Copy,' which was teased for the first time all through the concert's video teaser. The singer also sung three beloved One Direction songs, including 'Little Black Dress,' on this occasion.
In this moment of immense change, it's also worth noting the emotional impact and resonance that Tomlinson's fans received from Live from London, adding it to the relevance of live concerts in these unique times.
Meanwhile, the music industry, like many other industries, has had to reinvent itself in recent years. Fans were unable to attend concerts or meet their idols, and artists were unable to communicate with the public. Due to COVID-19 regulations and the consequences of the pandemic has brought up several problems including thousands of behind-the-scenes entertainment employees who had lost their jobs as the industry shifts away from traditional occupations. It demonstrated in 2020 that it could successfully adjust to the changing needs of an industry that had been brought to its knees by the outbreak. The platform, which offers a new way to experience live performances, is said to have produced more than $10 million in sales for the struggling touring industry.