Promoters behind the 2021 Astroworld Festival are attempting to reduce the number of lawsuits filed against them and Travis Scott.
According to a Rolling Stone report, part-employees who worked the event received an email that suggested their payments may be withheld if they fail to sign an updated employment contract waiving liability from both Live Nation and Scoremore.
After being hired for the job, part-time employees signed an original contract that included details from the terms of the 2018 show. The revised email, sent shortly after concertgoer Ezra Blount passed away, urged everyone to “resign and send back” the paperwork so the manager could wrap up payroll.
Per the amended contract, the manager asks that every “(employee) assumes full responsibility for any injuries or damages that may occur to the (employee) in, on or about the festival and its premises and fully and forever releases and discharges the released parties from any and all claims, demands, damages, rights of action or causes of action resulting from or arising out of the (employee’s) attending and or providing services at the festival.”
It also made sure to note that employees who signed the paperwork would not receive benefits, insurance coverage and workers compensation.
“They essentially said, ‘You need to sign this new form in order to get paid.’ It was clear they wanted legal coverage,” an anonymous Astroworld worker told Rolling Stone. “I definitely thought they were thinking of business first. ‘How can we cover ourselves?’ I know they weren’t thinking about us and how we were feeling, in my opinion. Nobody reached out to me individually to inquire how I was. It was just the paperwork.”
Despite being targeted by multiple lawsuits, Scott is working to get all of them dismissed. He is also reportedly teaming up with the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) to form a committee that will focus on improving festival safety.