Ticketmaster To Refund Postponed or Cancelled Shows From Covid-19 Representing $2 Billion

Concerts around the world have been put on pause or abandoned altogether due to the coronavirus pandemic. Though music fans appreciate the precautions taken, they also would value their money being refunded.

Ticketmaster is under fire again, this time for not issuing refunds for canceled or postponed shows, though the conglomerate promises the money is on the way. According to Billboard, Ticketmaster is finishing a plan to return the cash from over 18,000 concerts including acts like Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and many others. For postponed events,

Ticketmaster will begin to send emails on May 1 to the concertgoers on how to initiate a refund. The fans will have 30 days to request the reimbursement or the ticket go towards the rescheduled date.

Live Nation will also offer the option to receive additional credit for the canceled and postponed shows through the Rock When You Are Ready program. In addition, tickets can be donated to health care workers through the Hero Nation program. "Live Nation venues will offer fans an option to receive a 150% credit for the value of their tickets to be used for a future Live Nation show," reads in a company statement. "Fans will also be able to donate the proceeds of their refund to a charity to give concert tickets to health care workers, with Live Nation matching ticket donations." As far as canceled dates, the monies will be returned automatically unless the attendees choose otherwise. The statement continued, "For canceled shows, refunds will be automatically processed within 30 days unless fans voluntarily opt into other programs." Though Ticketmaster came under fire, they advised they do not hold the money from ticket sales. Company officials told Billboard the profits go to the concert promoters like Live Nation or AEG, who pay talent agents that book the performers. After a month of negotiations between the parties, an agreement is expected to be finalized soon. So far, Ticketmaster has canceled or postponed 30,000 events totaling $2 billion in ticket sales and another 25,000 events that are still scheduled to take place through the end of the year.