Author: Lanre Bakare / Source: the Guardian
As a camera makes its way through a sea of backing dancers, majorettes and marching bands, Beyoncé appears in a sequined robe and headdress reminiscent of Queen Nefertiti. This is the climax of Coachella 2018, and for the next two hours of Netflix’s Homecoming we are ringside for a career-defining performance from pop’s biggest star.
Welcome to the new era of the concert film: big, bold and eminently streamable.
Once the preserve of rock music’s biggest names – such as the Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter), Pink Floyd (Live from Pompeii) and Led Zeppelin (Song Remains The Same) – concert films have evolved in the streaming era, providing a valued income source for artists and an easy win for the streaming giants.
As well as Homecoming, Netflix is also releasing Amazing Grace – the concert film of Aretha Franklin’s gospel album of the same name – on 10 May. That follows Taylor Swift’s Reputation, which came out on New Year’s Day, and the December 2018 release of Bruce Springsteen’s Springsteen on Broadway. In January Netflix announced Martin Scorsese would direct a documentary about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, which is due out later this year.
The author and music industry expert Eamonn Forde says the resurgence of interest in concert films has been fuelled – in part – by streaming services’ need for content without the financial burden of drama. “Game of Thrones costs HBO – a reported – $15m per episode,” said Forde. “[With concert films] Netflix are just going to an existing concert. You can get impressive footage for, comparatively, not that much money. If you compare that to a 90-minute episode of original drama, the overheads are really low.”
Forde sees concert films as being similar to standup specials, which Netflix has invested heavily in, not only in that they are cheap to produce but also that they make sense for acts who want to squeeze more cash out of touring, which has notoriously narrow profit margins. “The overheads for a tour are quite high – you…
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