Ticketmaster Plans for Post-Pandemic Concerts Pending Vaccine
With news breaking just a couple days ago of Pfizer showing some success with a potential Covid-19 vaccine, Ticketmaster has been working to get the concert business back up and running with safety measures in place for all fans, pending their vaccination in this particular scenario.
The new plan which is still in development will require fans to verify their vaccination status via smartphone or if they've had a negative test for Covid-19 during a prior 24-72 hour window. According to Billboard, the new plan from Ticketmaster will require three main components:
- Download the Ticketmaster digital ticket app
- Third party health information companies such as IBM's Digital Health Pass or CLEAR Health Pass
- Testing and vaccine distribution providers, i.e.; CVS Minute Clinic or Labcorp
Here is how that order of operations would work: Upon purchasing a concert ticket, fans would then need to verify they have either been vaccinated or tested negative in the 24-72 hours prior to the concert. Regional health authorities would determine the time duration that the test would provide. Then, the concert attending fan would instruct the lab that their test results be delivered to their health pass company. If the fan is vaccinated or the test is negative, the health pass company verifies the fan's Covid-19 status to Ticketmaster. The fan would then receive the necessary credentials from Ticketmaster to attend the event. However, should a fan be either not vaccinated or test positive, no access would be granted to said event.
While different states will have different requirements, Ticketmaster will not store or have access to fans' medical records. The health pass companies will also comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
As previously mentioned, the new plans are only in the development stage and there's several other bridges to cross before any of this would come to fruition. But concert organizers like Marianne Herman, co-founder and principal reBUILD20, which deals with helping entertainment and live events companies develop Covid-19 strategies has said:
In order for live events to return, technology and science are going to play huge roles in establishing integrated protocols so that fans, artists, and employees feel safe returning to venues...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. 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.
There may be a long road ahead, but news of a potential vaccine for Covid-19, along with the plans that Ticketmaster is looking at to get concerts going again definitely gives some light at the end of the tunnel. We can only hope that as it's done safely, it will be sooner than later.
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