Ableton Loop, the annual international music-making summit, was supposed to be held on 24 April 2020 but was postponed to next year due to the COVID-19 situation. In its place, Ableton opted for an "at-home" edition of the summit, which featured music-making challenges, performances, and talks. Unfortunately, Ableton has now issued a statement that they do not believe the pandemic would have de-escalated sufficiently by next spring, which means Loop 2021 is also now canceled.

According to the statement by Ableton, they have decided to make this difficult decision after it became clear that they cannot guarantee the level of health and safety required for the event. They also stated that along with the welfare risk the ongoing global pandemic is also continuing to cast unmanageable doubt over all aspects of the event planning. They added that it is impossible to confirm bookings due to uncertainty in future travel and event restrictions.

Ableton has ensured ticket holders that they will be refunded in full. As unfortunate as it is that the Loop Summit is canceled Ableton will refocus their efforts towards coming up with new ways of bringing music makers together online.

This year has been disastrous for events and trade shows that all had to be canceled due to COVID-19 fears. From the looks of it, 2021 isn't looking much better at this stage as some events, such as NAMM Show 2021 already seeing cancellations. Virtual events, such as the "Believe In Music Week" may continue to be the norm for next year unless there are any significant changes in the COVID-19 situation. For the full statement by Ableton as well as the latest updates check out the following link.