After criticism and call outs by concertgoers and pressure from legislators, Live Nation Entertainment, the company that owns Ticketmaster, has rolled out a plan for refunds.
Concert dates across the world have been canceled and delayed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the program announced Friday, refunds and coupons for canceled and postponed shows will be offered to customers.
»COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS
Billboard reported that starting May 1, fans who bought tickets for postponed shows will start getting emails from Ticketmaster with the concert's new dates. Fans have the option to get a refund, including ticket price and fees. They will have 30 days to request a refund, otherwise the previously purchased ticket will be for the rescheduled show. AEG Presents has a similar window, the AJC reported.
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Fans also have the option for a 150% credit for the value of their tickets to use for a future Live Nation show. They can also donate refund proceeds of their refund to a charity to give concert tickets to health care workers, and Live Nation will match the donation value, Billboard reported.
“It just takes time to work through the math and work with the calendar. When you move a Friday show to a Monday night, you don't know what is going to happen with the fans,” a source at Live Nation told Billboard. “We had to move slow to get it right and we hoped by May we would have some clarity on dates and agreed terms.”
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The New York Times reported two members of Congress — Democrats Katie Porter, of California, and Bill Pascrell of New Jersey — called on the companies to refund fans' money.
"With Americans weathering the brutal and continuing impacts of this global crisis, your decision to confiscate their money is reprehensible and should be reversed immediately," Reps. Pascrell and Porter wrote in a letter to Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
The Times also reported New York state senator, James Skoufis, asked the New York attorney general to open an investigation into Ticketmaster. He tweeted that the announcement of the refunds was “welcome news.”
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