74º

WEATHER ALERT

LIVE NATION

Cancellation of Atlanta festival sparks new fight over guns

Tens of thousands of Music Midtown festivalgoers are no longer going to descend on Atlanta’s massive Piedmont Park next month to cheer on hip-hop star Future or watch beloved rock band My Chemical Romance take the stage. In fact, some people are convinced Atlanta — center of the nation’s hip-hop music scene — will lose more music festivals and performances on public land as organizers and artists learn that state law makes it nearly impossible for them to stop people from carrying guns among the alcohol-fueled crowds. Live Nation has refused to say why it recently called off September’s Music Midtown, a longtime fixture for pop music lovers.

news.yahoo.com

Amid pandemic, Live Nation announces drive-in concert series

(AP Photo)NEW YORK Tour promoter Live Nation has announced its first-ever drive-in concerts series in the U.S. for July, months after the live music industry has been on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. All venue staff are required to wear masks, and Live Nation requests that attendees wear masks upon arrival, where there will be contact-less ticket scanning through their windows. Masks are not required once fans are in their designated tailgate areas, and Live Nation is not requiring that fans wear gloves. Tom See, president of Live Nation Venues-US Concerts, said the company spent months working to find a safe, enjoyable way to put on live shows during the pandemic. A menu of hot food items and nonalcoholic will be available for purchase, Live Nation said.

Businesses in survival mode raise cash; commodities take off

This artist rendering released by Live Nation shows the set up for Live Nation's Live from the Drive-In, concert series taking place July 10-12. The Fed is using its tools to help, but most of the cash is being raised in the private sector. American Airlines will try to raise $3.5 billion to offset the cash its burning through with airports still largely empty. TripAdvisor said Monday that it had $693 million of cash and cash equivalents at the end of last month, down $105 million from the end of March. Two commodities monitored closely because they can indicate activity in construction copper and lumber are up 10% and 15% over the past month, respectively.

Ticketmaster, LiveNation backtrack, ease refund policy for postponed and rescheduled events

HOUSTON – Ticketmaster and its parent company LiveNation appear to be easing up and relaxing a stringent refund policy that stuck thousands of consumers with the cost of event tickets, even when the events were canceled on the originally scheduled date. We told you about Phyllis Bailey’s efforts to get a refund when the March concert she planned to attend was rescheduled for August. She wanted a refund instead, but Ticketmaster declined her request. Ticketmaster told her she wasn’t eligible for a refund because her tickets would “still be good” for the new show on March 24, 2022. For cancelled shows fans can choose to receive up to 150% of their ticket value as Concert Cash, and for rescheduled shows they will receive Concert Cash once they attend the new date.

Consumer expert Amy Davis gives advice on dealing with ticket sellers canceling events while refusing refunds

Now, many of those ticket holders are left waiting on refunds that may never come. When Live Nation or Ticketmaster canceled shows and concerts, instead of using the word “canceled,” the ticket sellers said the events were just “postponed.” Once rescheduled, even if the customer cannot attend on the new date, the companies won’t always refund the ticket price. Canceled concerts, refunds deniedIt happened to Houstonian Phyllis Bailey. When Bailey contacted Live Nation to get a refund of the $222.14, a representative told her the show was simply postponed until August 11. Live Nation told her she could get a refund.