- American concert promoter AEG will need proof Starting in October, it will provide vaccines to all of its US venues.
- Live Nation leaves the need for vaccines to individual artists to decide.
- Insider interviewed four musicians to discuss vaccine authorization and their return to the tour.
- For more stories, please visit www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
The Brooklyn-based indie band Bandits on the Run has been preparing for a performance at the New York Island Storytelling Festival in July this year.
Then, just a week before the event, when the band performed at an outdoor concert in central Virginia, a newly hired collaborator tested positive for Covid-19. Since May, he has been fully vaccinated.
The trio ran around Virginia looking for a quick Covid-19 test, only to find that the most recent test was in New York, a few hours away. Out of precaution for fans, the bandits decided to cancel the Kojima performance.
“It’s kind of like a slap in the face,” guitarist Adrian Blake Enscoe told Insider.
One of the band’s singer Regina Strayhorn (Regina Strayhorn) said that she immediately worried about the parents who originally planned to attend the concert-their immune function is low and has not seen her live performance for almost a year.
“If I don’t want my parents to come, I don’t want anyone to come,” Streihorn said. “It broke our hearts because we lost a lot of money… We really want to connect with fans who are working hard to see us.”
After the panic, the band worried that the live music industry’s return to touring would be more complicated than they had originally expected. Like most small-scale artists, Bandits cannot afford to close again.
“The essence of our business is that live performances are where money is made,” Streihorn said.
The band believes that one change that can save the live music industry: vaccine regulations. “All vaccination events and vaccine tasks are effective,” Enske said. “They give everyone peace of mind.”
The promoters also held popular music festivals such as the Firefly Music Festival and Coachella Music Festival.
Live Nation, AEG’s biggest competitor, leaves vaccine requirements to individual artists to decide. However, small artists who are open to large bands do not always have the right to make decisions.
“I can’t make headlines, so if I want to take action to build my business, things are completely beyond my control,” singer Mariel Loveland told Insider. “But if I make this choice, it will only make headlines…I will only play like the people I have been playing with.”
“I think it is my full responsibility to protect the people who come and keep them safe,” Loveland added.
According to Covid-19, the global live concert industry will lose more than 30 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 446 billion rand) in 2020. Pollstar’s year-end report. Now, musicians and staff are begging fans to be vaccinated so that live music can be restored.
“No one wants to lose more money than they already have,” Loveland said.
according to Dr. Alison AwadiThe Chicago Public Health Commissioner stated that 90% of the 385,000 attendees at the Lollapalooza Music Festival were vaccinated. She said the city “has no evidence” that the festival was a super-spreader event.
“We came to the conclusion that, as a market leader, we should take a real stand on the status of vaccination,” said Jay Marciano, CEO of AEG Presents. “We realize that some people may think this is a dramatic step, but it is the right step.”
