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A report in Billboard this week indicates that Ticketmaster is taking steps towards requiring access to consumer medical information as a part of its “fan safety” plans for live events to return at scale. The plan, according to Dave Brooks, involves data sharing between Ticketmaster, third party health companies, and testing/vaccine providers.

Ticketmaster’s plan is leap forward from proposed ideas by Wynn Resorts, which is planning an onsite testing lab in Las Vegas where ticket-holders for events on its property could get a rapid test prior to a show. This would involve substantial data sharing, something that Ticketmaster has already developed a reputation for embracing, particularly when forcing consumers to use mobile-only technology. Such technology is embedded in its “SmartEvent” system, which attempts to rebrand anti-resale technology as part of a suite of tools venues can use to reopen while the pandemic continues.

At this point, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved any companies to handle a real-time vaccination result system such as this would require. But Ticketmaster’s Mark Yovich told Billboard his company is banking on such an ecosystem developing quickly as the nation and world look to get back to “normal” while continuing to battle the coronavirus.

“We’re already seeing many third-party health care providers prepare to handle the vetting — whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods of review and approval – which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified,” Yovich says. “Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients.”

The article discussing the tech does not delve into the numerous questions of privacy and access that come with such a proposed system. For example: What happens if a customer purchases tickets for an event, then has a positive COVID test that prevents them from attending the day of the show? Will Ticketmaster and event promoters be required to refund that customer in full? Will resale and transfer be enabled for all consumers, or will the company use the SafeTix system to lock them in once a purchase is made? Will Ticketmaster be subject to massive HIPAA violation fines (which can range from $100-50,000 per individual violation) should it suffer a data breach like its UK division saw in recent years.
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SOURCE: Dave Clark - https://www.ticketnews.com/

The path back to full-scale live events across the globe got a big boost Monday from Pfizer. The pharmaceutical giant announced that early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial suggested that it is robustly effective in preventing the COVID-19 disease. It hopes to receive emergency authorization for the two-dose vaccine by the end of November and begin distributing worldwide.

“This is a historical moment,” Kathryin Jansen, a senior VP and head of research at Pfizer told reporters. “This was a devastating situation, a pandemic, and we have embarked on a path and a goal that nobody ever has achieved – to come up with a vaccine within a year.”

The news sent live event company stocks soaring Monday on the news. Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) opened the day at $67.40, more than $10 higher than its close of $56.06 Friday afternoon. It is the first the entertainment giant’s stock has gone higher than $60 since early March, which saw it tumble precipitously as the pandemic caused its entire industry to grind to a halt. Eventbrite (NYSE: EB) was similarly buoyed by the news, shooting up by some 30 percent Monday morning. MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is up over 16 percent as well.

The Pfizer vaccine is one of eleven in late-stage trials as part of a global effort to rapidly develop an effective vaccine against the virus which has caused more than 200,000 deaths in 2020 in the United States alone. It should be noted that the results of the testing were not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but rather by the pharmaceutical company itself in a news release.

While scientists urged caution to assume the preliminary data would prove out in full, the early returns were very promising. “This is really a spectacular number, said Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this high. I was preparing myself for something like 55 percent.”

Even if the vaccine is as effective as early hopes suggest, it will be some time before it is rolled out to a substantial portion of the population. Should it be approved, the Pfizer vaccine will see between 15-20 million doses produced before the end of 2020, which would be a fraction of the U.S. population, even if it is distributed exclusively domestically (which is unlikely).

Such a rollout would likely continue throughout 2021, which is enough to provide hope for a much more meaningful return of live events between social distancing and venue safety enhancements and an increasingly inoculated populace as the year goes on.
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SOURCE: Dave Clark - https://www.ticketnews.com/

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House on Tuesday voted to lift the state's rarely enforced ban on ticket scalping, bringing the long-proposed bill closer to the governor's desk.

The legislation would end a prohibition on the resale of tickets for more than face value. Currently, the law only allows scalping if a venue permits the excess charge in writing. Violators face a misdemeanor punishable by jail and a fine.

The Senate approved a version of the measure in January and will need to OK changes made by the House. The main bill, which was passed 91-14, would also prohibit the use of “bot” software to interfere with online ticket-purchasing limits. Brokers have been able to grab hundreds of tickets in the first few seconds after they go on sale.

Supporters said the restriction would go further than a federal anti-bot law.

Also, broker sites would be banned from using domain names that are substantially similar to the name of a venue or event. Netchoice, a trade association of online retailers, submitted legislative testimony this month calling such domains “deceptive" because they offer more expensive seats when the official venue or promoter site has unsold seats at face value.

There would be an exception for ticket sites acting on behalf of the venue or performer.

Michigan's scalping ban has been on the books since at least 1931. Bills to repeal or change the law have been introduced every two-year session since at least 2012.

The office of the main sponsor, Republican Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, said he worked on the House changes with interested parties and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Graham Filler, a DeWitt Republican. Barrett was hopeful the Senate could vote quickly, but it is up to leadership, chief of staff Ron Kendall said.

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Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00

SOURCE: David Eggert, The Associated Press