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In the wake of the coronavirus affecting everything from sports to massive events and conventions, the music industry and especially festival season is getting hit hard.
Live Nation has recognized the concerns over the spread of the coronavirus and is instructing its touring shows to return home, according to Billboard. The news affects all Live Nation related tours, both domestic and internationally.
On Thursday (Mar. 12), LN told employees that it was putting the pause button on current touring arena shows through the end of March. A few shows set to play on Thursday and Friday will take place but beginning Saturday, the remainder of shows beginning this weekend will be postponed. The touring giant is also instructing employees to work remotely and not come into the office and their Beverly Hills headquarters will mostly be closed up until the end of the month.
Live Nation has said they are not planning any layoffs and company officials told staff that it will be able to weather the closure.
Here’s the official statement from Live Nation as well as AEG:
“The world’s leading forces in live entertainment have come together to form a global task force to drive strategic support and unified direction ensuring precautionary efforts and ongoing protocol are in the best interest of artists, fans, staff, and the global community.
“The task force includes Michael Rapino (CEO and President, Live Nation Entertainment), Dan Beckerman (President and CEO, AEG & Board Member, ASM Global), Jay Marciano (Chairman and CEO, AEG Presents), Rob Light (Managing Partner and Head of the Music Division, CAA), Marc Geiger (Partner and Head of Music, WME), Sam Gores (Chairman, Paradigm), Marty Diamond (Head of Global Music, Paradigm), and David Zedeck (Global Head Of Music, UTA).
“At this time, we collectively recommend large scale events through the end of March be postponed. We continue to support that small scale events follow guidance set by their local government officials. We feel fortunate to have the flexibility to reschedule concerts, festivals, and live events as needed, and look forward to connecting fans with all their favorite artists and live entertainment soon.”
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Live Nation Planning To Pause All Concert Tours In Wake Of Coronavirus was originally published on theboxhouston.com
