Event Manager Dixie Rubin - Liabilities of Concert Planning & Operations

Dixie Rubin is an event operations and security manager based in New Orleans, Louisiana. In these podcasts, Dixie goes on to talk about the many liabilities that are faced by event producers. When it comes to planning events, it is uncommon for the risk factors to be low, whether you are planning an event for an underground artist or trying to fill stadiums with large crowds. While analyzing these podcasts, Dixie spoke about crowd control. As an Event Manager, the lives of all the people present at the venue (Performers, show pro team, patrons, attendees, etc.) is in your hands. It is the duty of the manager to make sure that the environment, whether indoor or outdoor, is safe for everyone. It is important to know how many people you expect to have at your event and whether the venue you plan to hold the concert at can withstand the capacity and if it meets the health and safety codes. Having an overfilled venue can cause injuries and also lead to the death of people present. We all remember the case of Station Nightclub fire. In this case we can see that the people who were in charge of setting up the event didn't do their homework properly, since there was only one exit, which was visible to people present. In the end the band was held responsible, since they did not have the proper permits and did not consult with the club owners if it was ok to use pyrotechnics.  As a result many people died and some were even trampled on because they couldn't get to the exit in time. 


To avoid any problems, it is advised that you are covered with some form of insurance, in the event that something does go wrong, at least you will have something to defend yourself with in the case of a lawsuit. Dixie brings up a very interesting point about accessibility. Now days, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires that everything be accessible to everyone, whether they are in a wheelchair, or have some other kind of disability. When planning for a concert, Event Managers need to understand the type of crowd they are attracting, this is based on they type of genre of music, that will be played at the show. There maybe times, when metal detectors are required to insure that no one is carrying a weapon. Dixie says that the Country and Hip/hop genre generally attract "rowdies" to the venue and these have a habit of leading in to violent fights. This can create a bad image for the Event Manager and the venue. In the event that a person at the venue is injured, this can lead to lawsuits, and you as a manager may never be able to host an event again. 

In the second part of this podcast, Dixie brings up jurisdiction. Generally whatever jurisdiction you are in, whether it is within city limits, or a township, you would have to get permits if you wanted to host an event. Also, If a stage need to be built or streets need to be blocked off, Event Managers need to get the necessary permissions to allow them to do so. Dixie uses the Jazz Fest as an example, and goes on to say that it is important to have a medical team present if the crowd capacity exceeds 10,000 people. During an event of such a large scale, there are bound to be issues with people suffering from heat strokes, excessive drinking, drug overdoses and even women going into labor! Emergency tents are set up around the event and have standby doctors and nurses on alert if there are any problems. In my opinion, I feel that this is an important tool to have. This does not only protect the well-being of the people present, but also provides protection for the Event Manager from being sued. A great example of this was at WWE's WrestleMania, where a fan suffered second degree burns from the hot ash that fell from the fireworks. Luckily, WWE's management was prepared with an EMT on site and the treatment was free. This stopped the customer from suing the WWE for injury. 


In conclusion, I would have to say that I have learnt a lot from these podcasts. Dixie has taught me about many liabilities, which I would've never thought could affect me. This is a risky business, and it is important to take the necessary steps to avoid any hazards that may get in the way.

Lawsuits in the Live Events Industry

The first case I'm going to talk about, was the class-action lawsuit filed by Ticketmaster, which is the subsidiary of powerhouse Live Nation. In 2003, the law suit was filed by the two plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Supreme court and granted class-action status in September, accusing Ticketmaster of misleading customers when it tacked on $14.50 to $25 in delivery fees. Ticketmaster tried to cover up the mess by saying, that the fees simply covered the cost of delivering tickets to the customers when in fact it was designed to boost the profits of the company. In December of 2010, both parties agreed to settle the lawsuit. A total of $22.3 million was set aside to cover legal fees and to reimburse customers that were affected by this situation. It seems that both parties decided to negotiate a fee that could be paid instead of letting the case drag on in court. This would be an example of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Further more Live Nation went on to reduce its fourth quarter earnings to the same amount, plus another  $5 million to restructure the concert business in North America.

Another lawsuit, which was filed recently, involved Kevin Faraday. This was filed at the New York Supreme Court. Kevin claims to have suffered injury while standing in the crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom, where the 'Making the Band' (Reality TV series hosted/produced by P. Diddy) episodes were being taped. Kevin was suing a long list of defendants over the incident. These include Diddy, MTV, Live Nation and a bunch of other companies and people. Live nation insists that they are innocent in this matter. According to Live Nation, "if Kevin did actually hurt himself, it was probably his own fault. But, Diddy, MTV and others also had an obligation to prevent this kind of thing from happening and they failed to do so". In my personal opinion, I feel that Live Nation was wrongfully accused as they played their part in setting up the event and that is all they are really responsible for. Anything that occurs after that is in the hands of MTV and Diddy, since they are the main players of this show.


The final case I am going to talk about was between two New Jersey concert promoters that sued Live Nation over a state fair. They claim that Live Nation used threats and coercion to prevent these promoters from booking acts for last summers state fair. Thomas Dorfman and Chris Barrett, who are partners at Juice Entertainment in Saddle Brook, claimed they lost their contract with the fair's management due to Live Nations' interference. The lawsuit states that the company Juice lost more than $75,000, making this a federal case. The lawsuit claims that Live Nation, which is the world's largest concert promoter and tickets distributor persuaded performers into not signing with Juice to appear at the fair and also threatened to withhold its ticketing services to the venue - the state-owned Meadowland's sports complex - if Live Nation was not allowed to be a partner. 


Sources:
1) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/01/live-nation-settles-class-action-lawsuit-over-fees-reduces-earnings-estimate.html


2) http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/03/live-nation-diddy-mtv-kevin-faraday-making-the-band-lawsuit/#.Ty_FpERWGRs


3) http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/two_nj_concert_promoters_sue_l.html