LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — With Live Nation anticipating that concerts will “return to scale” by the summer of 2021, Ticketmaster has reportedly been developing a system for re-opening venues safely that includes vetting fans for vaccination status.
(Editors note: This story has been updated -please see Ticketmaster’s statement here.)
According to a report in Billboard, Ticketmaster’s plan, which is still being fleshed out, will rely on multiple components, including Ticketmaster’s own digital ticketing application, as well as data and services from external companies such as IBM’s Digital Health Pass.
The preliminary plan will look something like this: to attend a show, fans will need to demonstrate that they have been vaccinated or tested within a specific period before the show. While the details depend on regional health officials, the window could be between 24-72 hours prior to the show.
Once the tests were completed, the information would be made available to the fan’s health pass program, which would issue credentials allowing access to the event. Fans who refuse to be tested or vaccinated, or if the fan tested positive, will prevent them from being able to attend the event.
Ticketmaster would not retain a fan’s health information, which is subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, but it would instead be stored by the fan in a digital wallet through a system such as IBM’s digital health pass system, which uses blockchain to help organizations verify an individual’s health status while protecting personal privacy.
According to Billboard, Ticketmaster will use their own ticketing platform to provide tickets that are linked to a fan’s identity, eliminating paper tickets and limiting the resale or transfer of tickets.
Ticketmaster also recently announced their SmartEvent technology platform which is designed to help event organizers and fans plan, manage, and attend socially distanced events.
Features Ticketmaster touted for SmartEvent include contactless ticket purchases, box office functions, and entry, entry rate monitoring, contact tracing, ticket transfers, timed entry and socially distanced seating.
“Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients,” Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich told Billboard.
Ticketmaster’s parent Live Nation’s stock spiked following news on Sunday that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 90% successful in tests. A full timeline for when the vaccine will be widely available has not been announced.
