The entertainment industry was shaken earlier this week. The outcry came after reports surfaced concerning Ticketmaster’s supposed plans on how to guarantee event attendees’ safety. According to the reports by the Billboard Magazine, Ticketmaster would require that its attendees present proof of vaccination or negative testing to Covid 19 in order to be granted access to an event. Now, Ticketmaster itself has come out to dismiss those reports.
The Billboard Report
Monday was a good day for medical research. Pfizer’s vaccine developed to fight Covid seems to be the answer to all our prayers. With a 90% efficacy rate, this might be the vaccine we were waiting for. Now, with this news, the whole entertainment industry aims to make a spectacular 2021 result. As part of this new return, safety still occupies the first place when thinking about concerns. Having a vaccine does not ensure everyone will have access to it. It also doesn’t mean everyone will get vaccinated. And so, according to Billboard, Ticketmaster came up with this plan to try and make all of their events safer:
- After acquiring a ticket, attendees would need to verify they had been vaccinated or had tested negative for coronavirus. Tests must occur 24 to 72 hours prior to the event taking place.
- Test results would then be delivered to an external health company. Examples are CLEAR or IBM. They would be in charge of passing the results to Ticketmaster.
- If the results are negative or the attendee submits proof of vaccination, Ticketmaster would then be in charge of handing the buyer digital tickets via their app.
- If a fan tested positive or did not verify vaccination they would not be granted access to any event.
- As additional information, Ticketmaster would not gain access to medical records.
Ticketmaster Comes Forward
Third-party health care providers have been preparing for this for a while now. The first digital ticket linked to a fan’s identity eliminates paper tickets. It can also help avoid tickets transferral or reselling. Safety parameters will be set by regional health officials and event organizers. Event organizers also have the ability to set their own prevention protocols.
The scheme, however, was criticized by many. Fans declared vaccines are now mandatory in anything but name. This, of course, caught Ticketmaster’s attention, and so the company came forward to make the following statement to the media outlet BBC:
“Ticketmaster does not have the power to set policies around safety/entry requirements, which would include vaccines and/or testing protocols,” it said.
“That is up to the discretion of the event organizer. Ticketmaster continues to work with event organizers on all Covid safety measures and it will be up to each event organizer to set future requirements, based on their preferences and local health guidelines.”
What’s Next For Ticketmaster
The plan appears to be nothing but a ‘potential idea’. However, it might be at least part of the new plan. Ticketmaster is in trouble. The whole industry is. Not only the concert industry. Sports. Shows. Everyone is in trouble. Finding a way to return in 2021 is a must. Otherwise, the global entertainment industry might collapse. The vaccination is a ray of hope. The first real one we have. Especially for the industry which was the first one to stop. The concert industry. This is the new normality. We need to learn this.