Music / November 12, 2020

Ticketmaster plan to check if concert-goers have received COVID vaccine

Music / November 12, 2020

Ticketmaster plan to check if concert-goers have received COVID vaccine

Words: Dylan Murphy

If approved the Ticketing giant would require verification concert-goers have tested negative or have been vaccinated.

Billboard has reported that Ticketmaster are planning to check the vaccination status of concert-goers once a vaccine has been approved and distributed.

It follows news that Pfizer has seen a 90 per cent efficacy rate on a vaccine during clinical trials.

The ticket company would have customers use their mobile phones to verify if they’ve been vaccinated against the virus or if they have tested negative for the virus 24-72 hours before a concert.

Plans have not been finalised, but according to the report, it will consist of three components. Ticketmaster’s digital ticketing app will work with third-party health information firms like CLEAR Health Pass and testing/vaccination distributors like Labcorp or CVS Minute Clinic to verify the information through smartphones.

If approved, Concert-goers would instruct a lab to send over test results to companies like CLEAR Health Pass or IBM’s Digital Health Pass. They would verify the results to Ticketmaster prior to the event. If you haven’t been tested or haven’t received a vaccine you won’t be allowed into the venue according to Billboard.

Moreover, Ticketmaster will reportedly not store or access medical records under the plan.

The digital ticketing app will also eliminate the need for paper tickets and can be prohibited from being resold, according to the report.

In addition, the digital ticketing linked to ticket buyers’ identities developed by Ticketmaster will also be coupled with a SmartEvent system to enforce social-distancing, delayed entry, and contact tracing. It will allow organisers of concerts and events to create preventative measures such as sanitisation stations, mask compliance and social distancing.

Speaking to Billboard Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich said, “We’re already seeing many third-party health care providers prepare to handle the vetting — whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test or other methods of review and approval — which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified“.

Elsewhere, Zoom saw shares fall following the announcement from Pfizer this week.