The entertainment giant Live Nation has introduced a new initiative called On The Road Again in partnership with Willie Nelson. Under the scheme, artists playing in Live Nation’s 77 venues will be granted $1,500 per show as a stipend towards travel and petrol costs and the focus of revenues from merchandise will entirely belong to the touring performers. Critics argue that the scheme may undercut small independent operators in the music industry and sidestep grassroots clubs and venues.
On the Road Again will also offer bonuses to producers working on Live Nation schemes over the next three months. Nelson, the country music veteran, underlined the significance of supporting touring artists, “whatever we can do to help other artists, I think we should do it,” he commented. “This program will impact thousands of artists this year and help make touring a little bit easier.”
The president of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Dayna Frank, criticised the initiative in a statement, noting that temporary measures designed to help artists could work against independent venues. Moves by larger events corporations such as Live Nation could squeeze such enterprises or aim to monopolise the live entertainment sector, she added.
Not all venues connected to Live Nation will participate in On the Road Again. In online comments, some musicians stated that the 20% cut on merchandise sales was still being demanded on certain events, although such payments are meant to be waived under the new initiative. Live Nation has previously faced a lawsuit related to wage theft from a section of its security team who accused the corporation of denying minimum wages and break time. The events company refused the allegations
Read the full article from Mixmag here: Read More