In the wake of a somewhat turbulent return to live music as COVID-19 variants spread, entertainment giant, Live Nation has divulged that it will now allow artists to assert whether or not they will require negative COVID-19 tests or vaccinations at their shows in a recently issued “best practices” document. Already implementing the new strategy at Chicago’s Lollapalooza, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino shared his full-fledged belief in the enactment of the new policies. “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,” shared Rapino.

Along with allotting performers with this additional level of control at their shows, Live Nation will also be requiring its staff, both on-site at events and in-office, to be vaccinated, effective October 4. The document states, “all employees in the US [must] be vaccinated to enter one of our events, venues or offices—with limited exceptions as may be required by law.” 

See the document in full below.

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It has been great to see events make such a strong return across the U.S., with demand for concerts and festivals continuing to outpace our expectations. 

LIVE NATION SHOWS

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.

EMPLOYEE VAX REQUIREMENT

In support of this model and to continue leading by example, we will be requiring that all employees in the U.S. be vaccinated to enter one of our events, venues or offices – with limited exceptions as may be required by law. This requirement will go into effect October 4, when our offices are set to reopen their doors for flex work, and to allow on-site staff a few weeks to get vaccinated if they haven’t already. HR will share more details on this soon. As a reminder we are providing an extra paid day off for every dose so you can schedule appointments easily. We’ve seen great vaccination enthusiasm among our staff so far, and we want to ensure we’re taking every step possible to keep you all safe.

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. We’ve gone through a lot this past year and it’s remarkable to see how far we’ve come. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to your HR partner. And thank you for continuing to play a role in our continued success. 

Via: Variety

Featured image: Jen O’Neill

Tags: covid-19, live nation, Michael Rapino, Vaccination

Categories: News