Ticketmaster May Implement System to Check Concertgoers for COVID Vaccination or Test Results
Ticketmaster is workshopping a virtual system in which customers prove whether they've been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19 when buying event tickets.
The ticket-selling company is reportedly brainstorming ways in which it can help concerts and other live entertainment shows resume in a safe manner, including an app feature in which customers would verify their health before claiming tickets, according to Billboard.
Ticketmaster would, the outlet reports, implement a system in which customers have their COVID test results sent to third-party health companies. If approved, the process would also allow customers to prove they've received a coronavirus vaccine, if and when that option becomes widely available.
"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," Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich told Billboard.
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"Ticketmaster's goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events," Yovich added, "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."
Billboard reported that Ticketmaster would not have access to users' medical records and would not store their results or medical information.
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Marianne Herman of reBUILD20, a group designed to help safely revive the live entertainment industry, told the outlet that this potential system is "one key way to reimagine how we’re going to get fans back to live events."
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"In order for live events to return, technology and science are going to play huge roles in establishing integrated protocols so that fans, artists, and employees feel safe returning to venues," said Herman. "Integrating ticketing platforms with the guests verified testing results is one key way to reimagine how we’re going to get fans back to live events."
"The experience of attending live events will look completely different, but innovation married with consistent implementation will provide a framework to get the live sports and event industry back to work," she said.
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