Planning on going to a concert at a Live Nation venue?
You may be required to show proof that you’ve got your COVID vaccine.
The largest promoter and operator of concert venues in the country, Live Nation has announced that they will allow artists to require attendees to show either proof of a COVID vaccine or a negative test prior to being allowed into their shows.
According to a “best practices” document circulated to artist teams, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino says that they have put together a plan that will allow artists to implement the requirements if they choose, and cited last weekend’s Lollapalooza as a successful implementation of their model.
“We are working to ensure we are reopening in the best way possible for staff, artists, crew, fans, and communities at large.
Our teams have worked together to put new processes in place so that artists doing shows with Live Nation in the U.S. can require all attendees and staff to be fully vaccinated or show a negative test result for entry, where permitted by law.
We believe this is a great model, and we have already implemented this successfully at many major shows including Lollapalooza.
We know people are eager to return to live events and we hope these measures encourage even more people to get vaccinated.
That is the number one thing anyone can do to take care of those around them and we are encouraging as many shows as possible to adopt this model.”
And in addition to the policy allowing artists to require vaccines or negative COVID tests, Live Nation also announced that they will require all US employees to be vaccinated to enter one of the company’s events, venues or offices.
From the letter circulated by the CEO:
“Our business and our industry is about uniting people and vaccines are one of the greatest tools for making sure that everyone can continue to enjoy live music together.”
It obviously remains to be seen how many artists will require vaccinations or negative tests for their shows, but with COVID cases going up around the country, we’ve already seen a few artists starting to require vaccinations for attendees.
Jason Isbell is requiring fans who attend his upcoming show at the famous Cain’s Ballroom to be vaccinated or show a negative test taken within 72 hours of the concert.
And American Aquarium recently took to social media to defend venues hosting their shows that are screening attendees.
With more cities and states re-implementing restrictions and mask mandates, and artists like Garth Brooks already talking about pausing their tour with the recent surge, it seems inevitable that we’ll start to see more artists taking advantage of Live Nation’s policy in order to keep from having to cancel shows this time around.
So if you were hoping to catch a show but you don’t plan on getting vaccinated, you may want to pay attention to the latest requirements – because you just may not get in.
