A concert promoter is selling tickets to vaccinated fans for $18 – while charging people who are un-vaccinated $999.99.
Organizers of the gig for Teenage Bottle Neck, a punk rock band, said they were charging the huge amount because people who hadn’t had the jab would ‘scare off a large number of patrons’.
On its ticketing page for the June 26 performance, the promoter says that anyone wishing to attend – and only pay the standard $18 – must have had their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or a single shot of Johnson & Johnson’s jab on or before June 6.
The company goes on to say that if people ‘do not care’ about the discount, have not been vaccinated and still wish to attend, tickets can be purchased for $999.99.
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‘We are NOT telling you what to do here, we are making a business decision and letting the market decide’, the promoter wrote, ahead of the gig in St Petersburg, Florida.
‘If someone wants to come in un-vaccinated, they will scare off a large number of patrons and will need to pay the difference.’
Everyone attending the June 26 concert at the $18 price must provide proof of vaccination at the door. The promoter adds that all staff, volunteers and band members will be vaccinated by the time of the event.
Teenage Bottlerocket band member Ray Carlisle said that at first the band thought promoter, Paul Williams, was joking about the ticket sales plan.
Speaking to WMC 5 Action News, Carlisle said: ‘He’s doing his best to keep the audience and the band safe and the staff at the venue safe.
‘and we go along with this idea.’
Carlisle added that he’s concerned that people will jump into attending live concerts in an unsafe manner as the US live entertainment industry, and country as a whole, recovers from the Covid pandemic.
Speaking to fans of his band who many be hesitant about getting a vaccine, Carlisle said: ‘Don’t do it because Teenage Bottlerocket’s doing it or telling you to do it.
‘Do it for yourself, your health, your community.’
He also explained that other concerts on the band’s tour won’t feature the same ticket promotion but will include other ways to keep attendees safe.
The move comes after Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill in May that will lead to $5,000 fines for businesses if they make customers prove they have been vaccinated for Covid.
The bill takes effect July 1, just days after the concert.
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