Live Nation Entertainment and AEG Presents, the two major concert and sports ticketing promoters in the country, on Thursday suspended all major concert tours to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the events would halt until the end of March at the very least, impacting artists such as Billie Eilish, Cher, Jason Aldean, Post Malone, Tool, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss and more.
The cancellations affect national dates and some international dates. Many artists had previously postponed or outright canceled international tour dates because of travel restrictions abroad. The Coachella music festival, which AEG partners with Goldenvoice, was already postponed to October from its scheduled date in April.
Representatives for Live Nation and AEG did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Live Nation and AEG were also among several key figures in the live entertainment industry who on Thursday launched a global task force aimed to address further concerns from the coronavirus and how to proceed.
“At this time, we collectively recommend large-scale events through the end of March be postponed,” the task force said in a joint statement issued Thursday (via the Los Angeles Times). “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.”
The task force includes Live Nation CEO and president Michael Rapino, AEG president and CEO Dan Beckerman, AEG Presents chairman and CEO Jay Marciano, CAA managing partner and head of the music division Rob Light, WME partner and head of music Marc Geiger, Paradigm talent agency founder and chairman Sam Gores, Paradigm head of global music Marty Diamond and UTA global head of music David Zedeck.
As of Thursday, the CDC reported just over 1,200 cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and 36 deaths in all.