In December 2020, Louis Tomlinson (UK) broke the record for most tickets sold for a livestreamed concert by a solo male artist (current year).
During the pandemic, the singer sent his fanbase into a frenzy and sold 160,000 tickets worldwide for his Live from London charity concert.
Tomlinson's concert was livestreamed on 12 December 2020 from an unknown venue in London, and shared on the concert platform Veeps.
At the time, the British singer and member of international sensation One Direction had just kickstarted his solo career with the album Walls.
With eighteen songs performed, the event surpassed the hour and raised more than $1 million (£755,000).
The sum collected was then distributed to four charities: Crew Nation, FareShare, Stagehand and the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice (which is based in Sheffield, UK).
However, that wasn't all.
Tomlinson's touring crew also received a portion of the proceeds after the difficulties of the 2020 pandemic, which put a halt to the live music industry for almost two years.
The 18-song set featured tracks from the debut solo album Walls (released at the beginning of 2020), as well as the live debut of the song "Copy of a Copy of a Copy" which was hinted at for the first time ever during the concert's video teaser.
On this occasion, the singer also performed three beloved One Direction hits including "Little Black Dress".
In an era of great changes, it's also important to mention the emotive impact and the resonance that Live from London had for Tomlinson's fans, as well as the great importance of live concerts in these unprecedented times.
Like many other sectors, over the last few years the music industry was forced to reinvent itself.
Fans couldn’t attend concerts, meet their idols; artists couldn’t interact with an audience.
Thousands of behind-the-scenes entertainment workers found themselves without a job as the industry moved away from traditional gigs because of COVID-19 restrictions.
It's no surprise, then, that Tomlinson's fans referred to this unexpected charity concert as "a gift".
Veeps, the platform which hosted the concert, was co-founded by Good Charlotte’s Joel and Benji Madden in 2017.
In 2020, it proved to successfully adapt to the new needs of an industry brought to its knees by the pandemic.
The platform reportedly made more than $10 million in sales for the decimated touring sector, offering a new way to experience live concerts.
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