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Live Nation has launched “On the Road Again” a new program created with the legendary Willie Nelson to support developing artists and the integral teams that support them.

Developing artists playing in clubs are the backbone of live music. Almost every artist plays clubs at some point in their career. According to live music charts from Pollstar there are 4,000 venues in the United States, and small venues host about 70% of all shows each year.

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These hardworking artists are impacted the most as tour costs rise and fluctuate. Even as the music industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, Live Nation wants to do more to help the live music careers of these talented artists, as well as the hardworking crews that operate behind the curtain.

“Touring is important to artists so whatever we can do to help other artists, I think we should do it. This program will impact thousands of artists this year and help make touring a little bit easier,” said Willie Nelson, who generously provided his famous hit song On the Road Again as the anthem for the program.

Through the end of the year, the On The Road Again program is expected to deliver tens of millions of dollars in extra earnings to club artists and crew by:

- Supporting Developing Artists: All of Live Nation’s clubs are investing in developing artists by providing $1,500 in gas and travel cash per show to all headliners and support acts, on top of nightly performance compensation. Additionally, these clubs will charge no merchandise selling fees, so artists keep 100% of merch profits. Touring is a crucial part of an artist’s livelihood, and we understand travel costs take one of the biggest bites out of artists’ nightly profits. By helping with these core expenses, we aim to make it easier for artists on the road so they can keep performing to their fans in more cities across the country.

- Thanking our Behind-The-Scenes Heroes: Live Nation also wants to recognize all the unsung heroes working behind the scenes night after night to help make these shows happen, with more grind and less glory than most of the business. On The Road Again is providing financial bonuses to local promoters that help execute at shows, tour reps that live life on a bus, as well as venue crew members that have worked over 500 hours in 2023.

- Lending A Hand to Crew Across the Industry: On the Road Again is donating $5 million to Crew Nation to support crew across the industry facing unforeseen hardship.

“Delivering for live artists is always our core mission,” said Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment. “The live music industry is continuing to grow and as it does, we want to do everything we can to support artists at all levels on their touring journey especially the developing artists in clubs. Like Willie says, this is all about making it a little easier for thousands of artists to continue doing what they love: going out and playing for their fans.”

On the Road Again is a true collaboration that draws on insights from Nelson’s years on the road as well as feedback from touring artists, their teams and venue operators to help support day to day life on tour. All benefits from On the Road Again are being provided directly from the venue’s existing earnings, with no increases to consumers.