Live Nation raises club workers’ minimum wage, nearly tripling US Federal Standards

As part of the On the Road Again program, Live Nation raises club workers’ minimum wage, which has now resulted in a minimum wage of almost three times the US federal minimum wage

As part of the On the Road Again programme, Live Nation raises club workers’ minimum wage for over 5,000 workers. The program was created by Live Nation and legendary Grammy Award-winning American musician Willie Nelson.

Live Nation, the event promoter and venue operator, is now reaching a new milestone with its On the Road Again program. Their next big move will be to reward staff at the clubs they operate in other ways. As they put it, the company strongly emphasizes rewarding its staff, “an ongoing effort to support developing artists and the crew that work behind the scenes to make shows happen”. The company, which recently also acquired Páramo Presenta (a Colombian promoter brand), will now be of great help to more than 5,000 of its employees.

No question, the On the Road Again program was launched at the end of September 2023, initially with the aim of supporting the development of artists and crew in clubs. The initiative was backed by Live Nation and even multi-Grammy-winning American musician, actor, and public activist Willie Nelson. Their first and one of their big initiatives was, among other things, not to charge a percentage of the artists’ merch stands in the company’s US clubs.

“The live music industry is on track for years of growth and offers a great career path, and by increasing minimum wages we’re helping staff get an even stronger start as they begin their journey in live.”, added Michael Rapino, CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment.

Based on their current initiative, it appears from the announcement that the base minimum wage at the participating Live Nation venues in the US and Canada will be $20/hour. This will include almost all employees who support the preparation and operation of the shows in some way. So the following roles can definitely expect an increase: guest services, production crew, artist hospitality, ushers, parking attendants, cleaning crews, box office attendants, sustainability coordinators, and many others. Interestingly, this increase is almost three times the US federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (2023 rate). The $20/hour minimum wage announced by Live Nation even beats states with the highest wage minimums, such as California, New York, Washington, or also the District of Columbia, which currently has the highest rate with $16.5/hour.

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