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Hundreds of thousands attended Lollapalooza last weekend and there was just a  bit  of drama, ticketing companies explore uncharted waters, and sponsors are cautious about "super-spreader" events.

$7.5 billionAround 10,000 venues, almost two-thirds with fewer than ten employees, have received a collective $7.5 billion from the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant.

Accessible music festivalOn August 8 in Denver, Shine Music Festival will be the first free, fully accessible music festival. From Braille t-shirts to painted pathways to experiential technology for the deaf or hard of hearing, the organizers are seeking as many different necessary accommodations as possible.

Quarantine requirement liftedThere’s hope for British festivals looking to welcome international lineups and crowds. Fully-vaccinated musicians and fans traveling from the US or EU to England will no longer have the quarantine requirement.

Official ticketing partner of CostcoFEVO has become an official ticketing partner of Costco, allowing FEVO members to sell directly to Costco members in store and online.

LN report seeks to highlight the impact of the business on the US economyOxford Economics released a report called “The Concerts and Live Entertainment Industry: A Significant Economic Engine.” Commissioned by Live Nation, the report seeks to highlight the impact of the business on the US economy and its recovery from COVID.

New loyalty rewards programVivid Seats is launching a loyalty rewards program where fans can earn free tickets, upgrades, VIP access, and more.

Ticketing and health certificates CTS Eventim has created a digital health certificate feature for ticketing that uses a QR code and does not store or link any personal health information to the software.

Japanese corporate sponsors are canceling advertisementsThough $3 billion of domestic sponsorship investments went into the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese corporate sponsors are canceling advertisements and distancing themselves from what they fear will be a ‘super-spreader’ event.

NFT ticketing systemCroatia’s Circus Maximus event aims to be the first Distributed Autonomous Organization festival in the world and will feature an NFT ticketing system.

A double-decker bus that carries musicians and fansSan Diego Sports Arena’s Ernie Hahn created the Wonderbus, a double-decker bus that carries musicians and fans along for mobile performances all around the city.

 Dice is hiring a full-time Venue & Promoter Partnerships Specialist in New York to join their Sales team and build relationships with the best venues and promoters on the east coast. Dice is also looking to hire an East Coast Account Director in New York. On Location, an Endeavor subsidiary, is seeking a full-time Finance Manager in New York City for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  MSG Sports is looking for a Premium Sales Manager, responsible for leading and managing the sales efforts for new business in selling their club seating and premium inventory for the Knicks, Rangers and MSG Live events.Atom Tickets in Los Angeles is seeking an Operations Specialist to implement and support the needs related to the use of their ticketing system, products, and services.

Many festivals are adding vaccine requirements for workers and attendees. Which method are you using to get into events?

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Last Week's Results:

81% of BOH readers

live in cities that are still open, as new Covid restrictions are popping up across the globe.

COVID at festivalsFrom Rolling Loud Miami to Lollapalooza to Latitude, large-scale festivals have officially returned, and everyone seems to be watching and waiting to see how COVID-19 makes its appearance. 71 people, or just 0.01% of attendees, were infected at the Calgary Stampede in Alberta in early July. More than 1,100 of the 20,000 people that attended the Dutch Verknipt tested positive after the event. Still, researchers are finding that 130 or more of those individuals already had the virus before walking through the festival's gates, despite the mandatory testing requirement. Tests had to be taken at most 40 hours before the event, but that could have been too generous of a time range to prevent infected people from coming effectively. The Dutch government has extended the ban on large-scale events until September, effectively canceling Lowlands, Down the Rabbit Hole, and Mysteryland (paywall). The reality is that with or without safety measures, this festival season will certainly not be free from the virus, so it will be up to the fans to decide if they want to attend the events that are still carrying on. Mixmag offers 10 steps that fans can take to help venues reopen safely.This weekend at Lolla...

This weekend, Lollapalooza joined the list of major festivals to return in several newsworthy ways. Due to his problematic comments at last week's Rolling Loud Miami, Sunday headliner DaBaby's performance was canceled just hours before he was scheduled to take the stage. Lollapalooza organizers shared this decision on social media, saying, "Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love… With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight…" Day N Vegas and Governors Ball have also both dropped him from their lineups. Next, a fight broke out between three people over fake tickets causing them to crash through the window of the Congress Hotel. In addition to counterfeit tickets, there were also claims of fake vaccination cards, which were required for entry (or a negative test). Halfway through the four-day event, organizers decided to require masks for any indoor spaces. 

Separately, organizers announced that they will donate $2.2 million over five years to their Arts Education Fund, an initiative focused on sustaining and providing access to arts education programs for 100,000 students in Chicago public schools. Despite the drama, with Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, Post Malone, Journey, and many other impressive performances, there was still no shortage of highlights. Check out the best moments.

Festival updates

(Suffolk & Sheffield, England) 40,000 people per day gathered at Latitude and Tramlines at the end of July as part of the Events Research Programme.

(New York City, New York) The lineup for Mayor Bill de Blasio and Clive Davis’ ‘We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert’ will feature Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, The Killers, Elvis Costello, Kane Brown and more.

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Falling In Reverse, Manchester Orchestra, and Spin Doctors are among the acts recently announced to be performing at Summerfest this September.

(Hockenheim, Germany) A new German edition of the UK’s Download Festival will occur next year through Live Nation GSA (paywall). (Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts) The 2022 lineup has been announced for the Beach Road Weekend festival. Wilco, Beck, The Avett Brothers, Lucy Dacus, Mt. Joy, and more will be performing. 

(Las Vegas, Nevada) Live Nation, Snoop Dogg, and Bobby Dee’s Lovers & Friends has announced their 2022 lineup, and it reads like a who’s who of 90s R&B hitmakers: Lauryn Hill, Usher, Ludacris, TLC, Ciara, Lil John, Brandy, Monica, Nelly and more. 

(Indio, California) 

After two eventless years, Coachella is looking far into the future with the announcement that Frank Ocean will headline the 2023 event.

Keeping up with the crew: Intellitix VP of Customer Success (and BOH co-founder!), Sally Lindinsky, joins Lyte's Chief Strategy Officer Lawrence "LP" Peryer for Spot Lyte On..., a podcast series. The two chat about live events, ticketing, event access control, and hot air ballooning.  

🎧 Link to listen: https://hubs.la/H0TkSBD0

IFEA’s Sponsorship Mastery Summit

September 22-24: IFEA’s Sponsorship Mastery Summit looks to answer your biggest sponsorship questions with insider secrets, best practices and industry trends.

Music Forward Foundation’s All Access Fest

September 30: Music Forward Foundation’s All Access Fest is a music industry career fair designed for youth ages 16-24 to follow their dreams

  What’s Team USA listening to in Tokyo?

Jack White is showcasing his talents offstage with the launch of his ‘Art & Design’ website

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