Live Nation deny artists’ contracts holding coronavirus gagging order
Live Nation has denied claims it has a gagging order in place to prevent artists from publicly disclosing that they have tested positive for COVID.
On Sunday (August 1), musician Courtney Jaye took to Twitter to share a message from an anonymous source from within the music industry. As per the screenshot, the individual in question claimed their team were “not allowed” to announce that they had contracted the Delta variant of coronavirus.
“Can you let everyone in your circle know what’s going on here?” the message continued. “This gag order issued by Live Nation is going to get a lot of people sick. Or worse.”
Captioning the images, Jaye claimed she had received other “messages like this from friends” in the industry, adding that it made her “incredibly concerned for all musicians and crew members on the road right now.
“Please stay safe everyone. also – wtf @LiveNation?” Jaye wrote.
There is absolutely no covid gag order in our contracts. We care about our employees, crew, fans & artists and will continue to meet requirements of local health officials as we put on events.
— Live Nation (@LiveNation) August 2, 2021
Responding to the tweet that the live entertainment company had been tagged in, a Live Nation spokesperson denied the claims.
“There is absolutely no covid gag order in our contracts,” they said. “We care about our employees, crew, fans & artists and will continue to meet requirements of local health officials as we put on events.”
You can see the messages in the above thread.
Some artists have been forced to pull out of scheduled gigs and festival appearances following the lifting of coronavirus rules on July 19. Alfie Templeman, Fontaines D.C. and Arlo Parks cancelled their slots at last month’s Latitude – the first full-scale festival to run in England post-lockdown – after testing positive.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Live Nation had booked twice as many live shows for 2022 as it did in 2019. It came as COVID-enforced restrictions began to ease, allowing for the return of live music and large-scale events.