(Photo : Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
World Series - Atlanta Braves v Houston Astros - Game Six
HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: Rapper Travis Scott looks on prior to Game Six of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves at Minute Maid Park on November 02, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
In the aftermath of the Astroworld crowd crash tragedy, Travis Scott joins a new initiative that will standardize safety measures at festivals throughout the United States.
The rapper has been working with the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) on a plan to implement new safety standards, having recently filed motions to have hundreds of cases against him dropped.
Scott has been contacting music industry figures to seek their support in the endeavor, according to a person familiar with the matter, who informed Billboard that Scott has been approaching them.
Travis Scott urges to standardize festival safety measures
The effort, which is currently seeking members for a working group, would be the first time that key stakeholders from a variety of sectors - including government, music, public safety, emergency response, event management, health care, and technology - have banded together for such a public-safety initiative at festivals across the country.
The working group's intended participants, according to a draft of a USCM agreement viewed by Billboard, include Live Nation, AEG, Spotify, and Apple, as well as ticket firms, record labels, management organizations, talent agencies, and the technology sector.
Per NME, experts in emergency preparedness, public safety, and healthcare will also be consulted. Between January and June 2022, a report will be compiled that will include findings and recommendations on issues such as crowd management and monitoring, chain of command and authority, clear lines of communication, health and safety enforcement, and the use of new technologies to help address safety concerns.
Astroworld victims died of compression asphyxia
The ten individuals who died in a tremendous crowd surge during Travis Scott's performance at the Astroworld music festival in Houston last month, including a 9-year-old kid, perished from compression asphyxia as the throng pushed forward.
On Thursday, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences announced the cause. Before making a definitive conclusion, the authorities had to wait several weeks for more test findings following the incident.
The festival drew 50,000 people, and the victims were among them. According to a Washington Post investigation, seven of them were standing near each other in the center of the south quadrant area in front of the stage.
Scott and the firms that helped put on the performance are facing dozens of billion-dollar lawsuits, including one filed in mid-November on behalf of 282 victims seeking $2 billion.
Last week, news broke that Scott had been dropped from the Coachella music festival's program in Indio, California. On November 5, over 300 people were injured and treated at NRG Park in Houston, the site of the concert. Twenty-five people were admitted to hospitals.
Artists, such as SZA, Yves Tumor, and Don Toliver, have previously played on the opening night of the concert. Fans from other stages joined the already crowded audience as Travis's performance on the main stage approached, as per Daily Mail.
The flood of people into the south quadrant, along with the hard dividers, would have squeezed the throng and made it impossible for anyone in the part to escape, according to three crowd experts.
One Astroworld attendee in the south quadrant said the audience surged as soon as Scott took the stage at 9 pm. Cocaine, methamphetamine, and ethanol, a kind of alcohol, were all found to be contributory causes in one man's death, according to medical examiners.
Related Article: Travis Scott, Drake May Face Multiple Lawsuits After The Tragic Astro Festival Leaves 8 People Dead, Including 2 Teenagers
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