Live Nation pledges $500,000 for bushfire crisis

Live Nation Entertainment is pumping money into the nation’s ongoing bushfire relief efforts.

The Australian businesses of the concerts juggernaut are donating at least $500,000 to bushfire recovery and wildlife related charities, as destructive fires continue to blaze across the country.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with those affected by the widespread devastation across the country,” reads a statement released Monday morning by LN, which gathers the companies Secret Sounds, Ticketmaster and Moshtix.

There’s more fundraising initiatives to come. During January and February, LN will ramp up its pledges through donations, charity upsell and the auction of “experiences.”

Also, Ticketmaster and Moshtix will donate ticket handling fees for tickets to approved bushfire-related fundraising shows and events.

Last week, the two Make It Rain shows in Byron Bay, organised by Secret Sounds, raised upwards of $190,000, with the cash going to NSW RFS Northern Rivers and North Coast Brigades (an auction will continue to take bids until Jan. 17).

Those sums should be dwarfed by several, separate stadium events to be staged in the months ahead under the Sound Relief and Fire Fight Australia banners.

Scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, Fire Fight Australia will be headlined by Queen and Adam Lambert, Alice Cooper, k.d. lang, and Olivia Newton-John, with all profits going to “Rescue”, “Relief and Recovery” and “Rehabilitation” for Rural and regional fire services, Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, and RSPCA Bushfire Appeal.

TEG’s live arms TEG Dainty and TEG Live are producing the big day out, which will span more than nine hours of live music.

Tickets are on sale at Ticketek and donations can be made at FireFightAustralia.com.

Sound Relief will see the “Australian music community band together once again” under a unified banner, reads a social media post from Jan. 8. Line-up and venue details have yet to be announced for the event, which takes its name from twin concerts in 2009 which raised millions for bushfire and flood relief efforts.

In response to the devastating bushfires currently sweeping across the country, the Australian Music Community will band together once again under the unified banner of Sound Relief 2020. Stay tuned for more information soon.
💻 https://t.co/Tp1ZFqvVD2
📷 Adam Stevenson pic.twitter.com/RS40CU556h

— Sound Relief Australia (@soundreliefau) January 8, 2020

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.