Astroworld Festival Promoters Suggested Staff Wouldn’t Get Paid Unless They Signed Post-Event Liability Release

After the Astroworld tragedy on Nov. 5, part-time employees were sent an email by event promoters, inferring that they wouldn’t be paid unless they relinquish their right to sue Live Nation and Scoremore.

A manager for both promoters sent employees an updated version of the contract on Nov. 15, Rolling Stone reports. “Hoping to wrap up payroll and get everyone paid ASAP but I still need a few things from some of you!” the manager wrote. “The first agreement included details from 2018. It has been updated so if you can re-sign and send back.” These part-time staff were paid $7.50 an hour to perform their duties.

One staffer declined to sign the contract. “They essentially said, ‘You need to sign this new form in order to get paid.’ It was clear they wanted legal coverage,” the anonymous employee told Rolling Stone. “I definitely thought they were thinking of business first. ‘How can we cover ourselves?’ I know they weren’t thinking about us and how we were feeling, in my opinion. Nobody reached out to me individually to inquire how I was. It was just the paperwork.”

The contract, obtained by Rolling Stone, includes Scoremore Holdings, Live Nation Worldwide, and XX Global as the promoters. It’s a binding document that protects the promoters following the fatal tragedy, which left all 10 Astroworld victims dead from compression asphyxia. Travis Scott, Live Nation, and Scoremore are being sued by thousands for emotional distress and other damages in connection with the event.

The staffer told the outlet that when his shift ended, he joined the crowd to watch Scott perform and got caught in the surge. “When Travis came out, the crowd just got wilder and wilder. The pushes were more intense. It was bad, just bad. You’d look over and see people falling and getting trampled,” he said. “You would look in people’s eyes, and the excitement you saw before had turned to fear. It was just wide eyes and people trying to stay up and breathe.”