As vaccines get rolled out, it seems like live shows might be more of a possibility toward the end of this year. One sign of the live entertainment revival is the fact that AEG is bringing back furloughed workers starting on April 1.
According to an email to staff from AEG CEO Dan Beckerman obtained by Billboard, furloughed and reduced hour employees are back on April 1, while staff in general should be back "at full pay no later than October 1," he wrote. "During the next six months, as our business ramps up, we will begin bringing all of you back full time at full salary."
"We can confirm that the company has distributed an outline for a full reemergence from our Covd-related workforce plan and look forward to welcoming back all affected employees in the coming months," AEG later confirmed to Variety.
So here's hoping, right? This all seems to fall pretty well in line with what Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said back in January about shows returning this fall, hopefully.
"If everything goes right, this is will occur some time in the fall of 2021," Fauci said, "so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience."
Fauci still suggested that even though live music will resume and participants will be vaccinated, masks still may be mandated "for the foreseeable future" as a safety precaution.
"We’ll be back in the theaters — performers will be performing, audiences will be enjoying it," he said. "It will happen."
