With Cities around the United States preparing to reopen following the nationwide quarantine due to the coronavirus, Live Nation has reimaged the concert goers experience with social distancing in mind.
On May 6, Yahoo Finance reported Live Nation's plan to cut venue capacity by 80%. The concert experience is expected to now take place in a "fan pod," which will consist of audience members remaining between two and 12 seats apart at all times. The 80% cut on attendees will bring venue capacities down from 1100 to 229 people allowed to attend at one time.
With venue spaces shrinking by nearly 871 people, the gathering of semi-large crowds will now be met with more safety precautions. All attendees will be required to wear masks and have their temperature checked at entry points. Fog sprayers will also sanitize the venue, bathrooms will be limited to ten people at a time, and soap and paper towel dispensers will now be touchless.
While the precautions Live Nation is suggesting will provide more leeway for fans and artists to interact and allow for rappers to begin touring again, there has yet to be a conversation on how music festivals will adapt to their current surroundings.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a problem for the concert industry back in early 2020, when rappers began canceling shows due to growing health concerns for fans. This also generated a money-flow issue for many rappers who receive a large portion of their revenue from touring. According to sources like DaBaby and Young Thug, some of hip-hop's favorite rappers have missed out on millions since social distancing and quarantining went into effect.
Though Live Nation can be expected to be putting on shows before 2020 ends, there are no current reports on when shows will start again.
See 17 Rappers Who Haven't Put an Album Out in a While That We'd Like to Hear From