Organizers of Ableton Loop 2020 have announced that they are planning to hold the April event as scheduled – there are currently no plans to cancel it over concerns about the Coronavirus epidemic.
The Coronavirus epidemic has resulted in travel to some countries being restricted. The US has restricted travel to multiple countries, including China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea.
In addition, several high-profile conferences scheduled for this spring have been cancelled, including Facebook F8, Google News Initiative Summit and the Game Developers Conference. Other events, including South by Southwest, are slated to go on as planned, even as some prominent participants have cancelled their attendance.*
Ableton delivered an update today to the Ableton Loop Community page on Facebook:
Coronavirus: An Update From the Loop Team.
With two months until the Loop Summit for Music Makers, we’re carefully monitoring the continuing spread of Coronavirus – Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2.
Our first priority is to provide a safe environment for all attendees, participants and staff. We are in close dialogue with the Berlin Senate and the Robert Koch Institut – the German government’s central scientific institution in the field of biomedicine – to make sure we are taking a responsible approach based on the most up-to-date guidance.
As of now, Loop 2020 is going ahead as planned. Our team is working in partnership with our venues, travel planners, and suppliers to assess any risk, and implement any necessary measures alongside our existing health and safety policies.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take care of the needs of any special cases. We will inform you immediately if anything changes.
If you would like more information about Covid-19, the following links provide a useful resource:
- World Health Organization Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19) (English)
- Robert Koch Institute FAQ (German)
We look forward to welcoming you at Loop.
The Loop Team.
Loop 2020, scheduled to be held April 24-26 in Berlin, is a three-day creative summit for music-makers, aimed at sharing ideas on music, technology and creative practice. Organizers describe Loop as “an exploration of what it is to make music today and what it could be tomorrow.”
Organizers of Superbooth, which happens in Berlin the same week as Ableton Loop, have also announced that they also have no current plans to cancel their April 23-25 event over concerns about the Coronavirus epidemic.
*Barring any changes from the event’s planners, Synthtopia will be at South by Southwest 2020, and will be participating in some panel discussions about the future of music at the festival on March 18 and 19.
Complete insanity! Germany is a hot bed of community infection! What are they thinking.
Well I guess anyone that decides to go gets what they get. A pity about the families and communities they will bring infections back to.
Well, since we’re at the top of the food chain, we’ve got to have some way to keep the IQ up.
Agree! Germany is infecting us with good music! Let’s go!
But, if you’re any good at music, please don’t go… if you’re very bad, definitely go.
well… considering The Push controller will be sharing germs and bacteria…. people coughing from joints outside, let alone passing it around….. and then clubbing afterwords…. Should be worth the risk
most of the attendees are from berlin anyway which is the silicon valley of music software coding. the rest can stay home.
Like I said about another conference the other day, synth/music events are pretty small and if the organizers cancel they are on the hook for all the financial losses, their insurers will not pay out. If the government says ‘stop holding large events because of coronavirus, then the insurers WILL pay out, because it was outside the control of the event organizer. So even if the event organizer wants to cancel, they can’t afford the financial cost of doing so, because they will get sued by the hotels, event hall, etc. etc. that they are contracted with.
Damn, this was the first year I made plans to go, I was hoping that maybe somehow things would clear up by then but it sure isn’t looking good. Just waiting for the cancellation announcement now…