Live Nation Calls Off All Current Tours Due to Coronavirus

Starting this weekend, the concert promoter will be postponing all shows until the end of the month

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Mar 12, 2020

Live Nation is reportedly set to halt all ongoing tours, both in North America and internationally, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While Live Nation has not yet officially made the announcement, Billboard reports that the company has informed employees that it is pumping the breaks all touring arena shows until the end of the month.

UPDATE (3/12, 4:15 p.m. EDT): Live Nation has now officially suspended all upcoming concerts. A statement from the company reads: "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." See Live Nation's full statement below.

According to the report, a few more concerts will play out tonight and on Friday (March 13), but starting this weekend, all upcoming Live Nation concerts will be postponed.

On top of postponing live events, Live Nation is asking all employees work remotely. However, Live Nation is not planning any layoffs, according to Billboard, with staff being told the company is in a good position to weather the temporary closure.

Affected tours could include those by artists such as Tool, KISS, Post Malone, Billie Eilish and many more.

So far, no plans have been revealed about ticket refunds in the wake of any sort of mass Live Nation concert postponement.

The news comes as Live Nation took a serious tumble on the stock market on Wednesday (March 11), with shares falling 16.6 percent. This led to a single-day loss of more than $1.8 billion in stock market valuation.

Live Nation's full statement:

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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