Music IndustryMusic News

Ticketmaster is prepping for concerts in a COVID world

There’s no question that it’s going to be an ugly, difficult, pandemic winter. Yet this week, there was cause for hope with news of the Pfizer vaccine (fingers crossed) as well as promising trials from a few other pharma companies. Combined with proper social distancing, masks, use of sanitizer, and all those other responsible things, we might be able to get back to concerts and festivals by next summer. Again, fingers crossed.

Ticketmaster isn’t sitting on its hands waiting for something to happen. Billboard reports on how things will probably shake out in 2021.

“Here’s how it would work if approved: After purchasing a ticket for a concert, fans would need to verify that they have already been vaccinated (which would provide approximately one year of COVID-19 protection) or test negative for coronavirus approximately 24 to 72 hours prior to the concert. The length of coverage a test would provide would be governed by regional health authorities — if attendees of a Friday night concert had to be tested 48 hours in advance, most could start the testing process the day before the event. If it was a 24-hour window,  most people would likely be tested the same day of the event at a lab or a health clinic.

“Once the test was complete, the fan would instruct the lab to deliver the results to their health pass company, like CLEAR or IBM. If the tests were negative, or the fan was vaccinated, the health pass company would verify the attendee’s COVID-19 status to Ticketmaster, which would then issue the fan the credentials needed to access the event. If a fan tested positive or didn’t take a test to verify their status, they would not be granted access to the event. There are still many details to work out, but the goal of the program is for fans to take care of vaccines and testing prior to the concert and not show up hoping to be tested onsite.”

You probably have questions.

  • Will Ticketmaster have access to your medical records? NO
  • Will there be different requirements for different jurisdictions? YES
  • Is there any company that can deliver real-time vaccination records? NOT YET
  • Could this mean the end of paper tickets? PROBABLY
  • Is there a rapid-results test that venues can use? MAYBE

Again, the full story is available here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38031 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.