Travis Scott involved in new effort to standardise festival safety measures across the US

Travis Scott is part of a new effort to standardise safety measures at festivals across the US in the wake of the Astroworld crowd crush tragedy.

The rapper, who recently filed requests to be dismissed from hundreds of lawsuits levelled against him, has been working with The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) on a plan to put new safety protocols in place.

That’s according to a source who is familiar with the situation, who told Billboard that Scott has been contacting music industry leaders to secure their involvement in the initiative.

The effort, which is currently soliciting participants for a working group, would mark the first time that key stakeholders from multiple sectors – including government, music, public safety, emergency response, event management, health care and technology – have joined up for such a move in public safety at festival events nationwide.

In a draft of a USCM agreement seen by Billboard, target participants for the working group include Live Nation, AEG, Spotify and Apple as well as ticket companies, record labels, management companies, talent agencies and the technology industry. Emergency preparedness, public safety and healthcare experts will also be approached.

A report is due to be compiled between January and June 2022 that will include findings and recommendations on issues including crowd management and monitoring, chain of command and authority, clear lines of communication, enforcement of health and safety measures and the use of new technologies to help address safety concerns.

‘Ensuring Festival Safety’ report will be sent electronically to 1,400 cities and other relevant stakeholders and be made publicly available online at usmayors.org.

“It is our hope that this report serves as the new safety and security blueprint for all festivals,” the agreement reads.

Billboard added that safety and live events experts noted multiple safety failures at Astroworld festival, including lapses in crowd management as well as the hire of inexperienced security staff amid a global labour shortage in the touring industry.

10 people died and hundreds were injured in the November 5 incident. Those who passed away were this week confirmed to have died by compression asphyxia.

Elsewhere, Scott has reportedly been dropped from the 2022 Coachella line-up following the tragedy.