(CelebrityAccess) – A coalition of major live events companies, including Live Nation, AEG Presents, Oak View Group and the Recording Academy, along with major agencies such as CAA, UTA, and WME, have come together to support the live events industry amid the ongoing coronavirus shutdown.
The Save Live Events Now coalition is calling on Congress to expand the Save Our Stages act, which itself is currently stalled amid the tense pre-election political environment to throw a lifeline to 12 million live events workers and musicians that have been financially impacted by the shutdown of the live events industry.
According to Save Our Live Events, more than 77% of live events workers have lost 100% of their income during the pandemic, and 90% of those workers are employed by venues or businesses that do not qualify for support under the Save Our Stages Act.
As well, according to SOLE, 62% of artists across all disciplines are now unemployed due to the pandemic.
Measures the coalition is calling for includes a $600 a week in compensation for affected employee for the duration of the shutdown, employer retention tax credits, healthcare subsidies, including an expansion of COBRA to ensure that live events workers do not lose medical coverage, and changes to unemployment insurance to make life easier for gig workers.
To date, more than 20 companies have joined the coalition, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Music Artists Coalition (MAC), Feld Entertainment, Rhino, TAIT, Endeavor, Paradigm, SAG-AFTRA, Bandit Lites, Fullstop Management, Universal Music Group and more.
