Ticketmaster may require vaccinations, negative COVID-19 tests when concerts return

The future of live music is filled with question marks, but Ticketmaster is already exploring routes for a safer return.

On Wednesday, the ticket-selling company revealed that it’s workshopping ways for concertgoers to verify that they’ve been vaccinated or tested negative for coronavirus before attending a show, Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich told Billboard.

The framework plan could work through the Ticketmaster digital app and third-party health companies and customers would be required to get tested approximately 24 to 72 hours before a concert. Results of the test or vaccination status could be tied to a digital ticket used to enter events.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer offered hope for movie theaters and live entertainment earlier this week, when it announced that a trial vaccine was effective in preventing COVID-19 in more than 90% of the trial’s first 94 participants.

Ticketmaster would not store fans’ medical records, and would only receive verification that a person is cleared to attend an event on a specific date, Billboard reports.

“Integrating ticketing platforms with the guests verified testing results is one key way to reimagine how we’re going to get fans back to live events,” Marianne Herman, co-founder of COVID-19 strategies company reBUILD20, told Billboard. “The experience of attending live events will look completely different, but innovation married with consistent implementation will provide a framework to get the live sports and event industry back to work.”

Concert promoters have been forced to get creative in producing live music since March, when parts of the country went into lockdown due to the pandemic, which is responsible for more than 240,000 deaths in the U.S. Drive-in shows and livestream concerts have become a popular alternative.

Garth Brooks and Metallica are among top artists who’ve staged drive-in concerts while Megan Thee Stallion, The Weeknd and Billie Eilish have played ticketed virtual concerts. “Don’t Start Now” hit-maker Dua Lipa will be the next major start to do so with her Studio 2054 online performance on Nov. 27.

The Flaming Lips are taking it to the next level, with the first full-length ”space bubble” concert on Dec. 11 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The concert will be limited to 100 people, and every member of the audience and band will be in their own individual plastic bubble during the show.

Read more at usatoday.com