AEG And Live Nation Will Offer Refunds For Rescheduled Shows, But Only Once New Dates Are Announced
The coronavirus pandemic has pretty much fucked every part of the music industry — including fans, many of whom are still waiting on refunds for tickets to rescheduled shows that they may or may not ever get to attend. But The New York Times reports that AEG Presents and Live Nation, the two concert promoters that dominate the global market, are still planning to offer refunds to frustrated ticketholders.
Next month, AEG will begin offering refunds for tickets to shows that have been rescheduled — but only if the new dates have already been announced. Ticketholders will have a 30-day window to request a refund, starting either from 5/1 or from whenever the new dates are announced. Fans with tickets to shows that have been postponed indefinitely, however, will have to wait.
Live Nation, on the other hand, has less of a concrete timetable at this point. But in a statement, the company says: “Live Nation’s plan is to continue offering an opportunity for refunds on all of its rescheduled shows as new dates are set. We anticipate those windows will begin to open up on an event by event basis in the next few weeks.”
Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, says that it has already authorized refunds for more than 11,000 concerts and sporting events, including over 4000 events that have been postponed. Ticketmaster offers refunds within 30 days for events that are cancelled outright. But shows that are postponed are more tricky, with the company relying on the venues themselves to make the call on refunds.
“I think there’s a lot of misperception about Ticketmaster,” Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation, told CNBC on Tuesday. “Ticketmaster doesn’t sell these tickets and sit on a mountain of cash. Ticketmaster sells tickets and gives the cash over to the venues where the events are held.” And to get that cash back and issue refunds, Ticketmaster needs to work with the venues — many of which are closed right now.
Fans are, understandably, not too happy about waiting for their money. Billboard reports that a Wisconsin man has already filed a $5 million dollar federal class action lawsuit against StubHub for not refunding money he spent on an NHL game that has been suspended but not officially cancelled, instead offering him a coupon worth 120% of the purchase price that expires in 12 months. We’ll see what happens, I guess.
UPDATE: Live Nation has now outlined a plan for refunds similar to AEG’s, The New York Times. Fans will have a 30-day window, starting 5/1 or whenever rescheduled dates are announced, to claim refunds for postponed shows. The company is also offering customers credits worth 150% of their tickets’ value to hold onto their tickets for their cancelled shows. Customers who hold onto tickets for rescheduled shows will also receive credits of varying amounts.