LYV - Live Nation Expects Artists to Absorb Higher Cancellation Costs in 2021
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV), the parent company behind Ticketmaster and a leading arranger of live events, is making dramatic changes to its boilerplate artist contracts. Next year, when the concert circuit gets back on track again, guaranteed artist payments will be 20% lower and the artist will carry a larger financial burden when an event is canceled.
Music magazines Rolling Stone and Billboard obtained a memo sent from Live Nation to leading talent agencies.
"We are in unprecedented times and must adequately account for the shift in market demand," the memo begins, moving on to outline the market uncertainty that was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company hopes to "renegotiate" many thousand shows that were postponed to 2021, including several dozen music festivals.