Live Nation Cancels International and Domestic Tours Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

As of Thursday, Live Nation has taken extreme precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, suspending all live music tours in an effort to combat the spread of the virus.

Live Nation instructed all of its touring shows to prepare to return home, both domestically and internationally, per Billboard. A select number of shows will play out during the next few days, but Live Nation is prepared to postpone all live events through the months of March and April.

Employees of Live Nation have also been instructed to work from home starting immediately, with the company’s Beverly Hills headquarters remaining mostly closed until the end of March.

The company is hoping that no layoffs or major losses will occur, as March is generally a slow month for live concerts. This is a stark difference from other performance cancellations due to the virus. South by Southwest fired one-third of its employees and expecting a loss in the “tens of millions” due to the event’s cancellation. There are tentative plans to reschedule many of the live shows for May or June, depending on how the situation unfurls by the beginning of April.

Some of the major tours affected by Live Nation’s decision are Billie Eilish, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Cher, Kiss, Post Malone, Tool, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Chris Stapleton, among others.

Today, New York also decided to shutter further Broadway performances and capped all public gatherings at 500 people. The NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS and NHL have also decided to cancel games and major events in light of the coronavirus.