Update and Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated that Ticketmaster may require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or negative test result to enter a live event. However, entry to live events is not mandated by Ticketmaster and is up to the discretion of the event organizer. Ticketmaster works with event organizers on COVID safety measures. There is no requirement from Ticketmaster mandating vaccines or testing for future events. We regret the error.
Ticketmaster is exploring the potential for event organizers to be able to ask fans for COVID-19 vaccine status or test results. It would be up to each event organizer to set future requirements. The plan is still in the development phase.
Per a Billboard report, if the plan is approved, a vaccine providing approximately a year of coronavirus protection or a negative test taken 24 to 72 hours before the concert would need to be reported in advance to a health pass company, like CLEAR Health Pass or IBM's Digital Health Pass, or by vaccine distribution providers, such as CVS Minute Clinic or Labcorp. How soon a negative COVID-19 test would need to be secured before showtime will be based off local health guidelines. Once those steps are taken, ticket-holders should be able to prove their vaccination status or test results with their smart phones.
"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," Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich tells Billboard. "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."
Per Billboard, the system "helps event organizers and fans manage social distancing, delayed entry and provide possible opportunities for contact tracing."
Billboard clarifies that "Ticketmaster would not store or have access to fans' medical records and would only receive verification of whether a fan is cleared to attend an event on a given date."
Read More: Dolly Parton Shares Her 2020 Letter to Santa Claus
Talk of what concerts might be like in a post-social distancing world increased after word broke about one potential vaccination partially funded by Dolly Parton.
Ticketmaster's part of larger entertainment company Live Nation.
