As concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus continue to spread, few industries have been hit harder than the music business—and very specifically, the live music business. After a week that’s seen groups like Bikini Kill, They Might Be Giants, Pearl Jam, and more announce that they were canceling various legs of their upcoming tours out of fear of people all grouping together in one place and touching each other’s faces, concert promoters Live Nation and AEG have announced a much larger, and more uniform move: They’re pulling the plug on all major tours for the rest of March 2020.
This is per Rolling Stone, which reports that the two corporate rivals coordinated with each other, and various booking agencies, in order to present a united front in their response to the current crisis. The groups issued a joint statement today, recommending the cancellation of all large events through the rest of the month:
The world’s leading forces in live entertainment have come together to form a global task force to drive strategic support and unified direction ensuring precautionary efforts and ongoing protocol are in the best interest of artists, fans, staff, and the global community. At this time, we collectively recommend large scale events through the end of March be postponed. We continue to support that small-scale events follow guidance set by their local government officials. We feel fortunate to have the flexibility to reschedule concerts, festivals, and live events as needed, and look forward to connecting fans with all their favorite artists and live entertainment soon.
Per Rolling Stone, the two companies are still hopeful that touring might be able to resume in April.