Live Nation Artists Could Be Taking a Pay Cut for Shows in 2021 Under New Memo Plan.

It’s been more than three months now since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began making a heavy impact on the global entertainment industry, and with no real end in sight, companies are struggling more each day to stay afloat with a lack of business brought upon by social distancing regulations and the risk of spreading the life-threatening virus.

With most of this year’s festivals and shows either being cancelled or postponed until 2021, North America’s biggest live entertainment company, Live Nation, seems to be struggling with the repercussions of COVID-19, perhaps the most out of any major corporation.

In May, the concert giant was forced to stand down 20 percent of its employees to reduce costs. However, it seems the move wasn’t enough, as a new memo obtained by Rolling Stone outlines dramatic changes to Live Nation’s cancellation policies.

The changed policies, however, appear to shift any potential financial burden to these artists.

The memo describes many policy changes, with a common theme of moving liability away from Live Nation and towards artists. For example, the memo states;

“If an artist cancels its performance in breach of the agreement, the artist will pay the promoter two times the artist’s fee.” Additionally, “if a show is cancelled due to poor ticket sales, the artist will receive 25% of the guarantee.”

Airfare and accommodations costs will also fall to the artists, a move out of the current standard practices of the music industry.

Read the full memo outlining the changes here.