Last month, Ticketmaster, a Live Nation company, furloughed a quarter of its employees to reduce costs during COVID-19. For Ticketmaster, that only amounted to hundreds. Now, Live Nation has also furloughed approximately a quarter of its work force, estimated at over 2,000.
The cuts are a continued effort at reducing costs between the companies by at least $600 million to weather COVID-19 and its effects on the live music industry. According to data collected by Billboard, “nearly 40,000 full and part jobs in live entertainment have been lost since stay at home orders were issued in 42 states beginning March 12.”
Live Nation will go into the summer with approximately $3 billion in liquid funds to help stay afloat. With no traditional live events during what would have been its busiest months, it, like everyone else, will need to learn to pivot and find revenue elsewhere.
It appears drive-in raves are going to start becoming a thing soon, so perhaps we might see a major shift in how we enjoy live music for the rest of this year.
via Billboard
