Michel Welter, Managing Partner at A-Promotions / den Atelier;
Credit: Michel Welter
Chronicle.lu recently got the opportunity to speak with Michel Welter, Managing Partner at A-Promotions / den Atelier, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on event organisation, how the music venue has adapted to this "new normal" and his hopes and expectations for 2022.
Michel Welter began by explaining that the national measures related to COVID-19 had had less of an impact on the venue's activities than international factors, namely the availability of artists on tour. He added that the implementation of the CovidCheck system in Luxembourg certainly involved more logistical work than usual, but this was not den Atelier's biggest concern.
Moreover, the venue is currently working on a new sanitary concept to be approved by Luxembourg's Health Directorate, as this is required for any events gathering more than 200 people. Indeed, the reduced capacity of the venue, owing to COVID-19 restrictions, is an "important consideration", particularly for artists for whom it represents a loss of revenue.
Regarding financial support, Michel Welter explained that it took time before den Atelier received any state aid. Many employees eventually benefitted from short-time working, which helped in terms of paying salaries. However, this covered "only one part of the costs" borne by the venue. Despite the delay in financial aid from the government, the aid for costs not covered by revenues proved "crucial" for a privately run venue like den Atelier. This scheme covers monthly losses and has been a "tremendous help" since November 2020, according to Mr Welter.
Michel Welter added that for the few shows den Atelier has managed to actually host these past 22 months, staff have "needed to work a lot more for much less result": For instance, a concert selling 1,000 tickets two years ago would now only sell around 200 to 300 tickets for the same artist. "The business has been shaken to its very core", noted Mr Welter.
Whilst the implementation of COVID-19 measures and the sanitary concept require a lot of work, this was "something we did ourselves", explained Michel Welter. "We did not rely on outside companies or staff". He added, however, that the "nature of our job has changed quite a bit and concerns every part [of the business]", from marketing and communications to ticket booking. "We all needed to adapt".
"We tr[ied] to stay positive and to find a solution", Mr Welter added. "We seized the little opportunities we had". He cited the examples of the first all-standing, open-air concert organised by den Atelier in Mondorf-les-Bains last summer and the series of open-air shows held at Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg in autumn 2021.
