Whitesnake Settle Hearing Damage Case
Couple get $40,000 from band after 2003 concert damaged their hearing
Whitesnake have settled with a couple who allege that they received long term hearing damage from one of the band’s concerts.
The case goes back to Whitesnake’s 2003 ‘Mmmm...Nice Package Tour’ and a concert at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre. Maryellen and Kevin Burns claim that venue staff directed them to new seats closer to the stage – and subsequently closer to a large tower of speakers – because a piece of staging equipment blocked their view from their original seats.
In a statement filed with the court, a hearing loss expert claimed the speakers "had the potential to blast music at a volume anywhere from 2 to 22 times what is considered ‘acceptable exposure’ to the human ear.”
The couple claimed that they had been left with long-term hearing loss as a result of the concert and the band have now reached a $40,000 settlement in compensation.
Pollstar reports that as well as the hearing damage case, the genre in which Whitesnake operates was also discussed. In their Appeals Court briefs, the plaintiffs said that Whitesnake shouldn't be classified as a heavy metal band, arguing that the term pigeonholed "Mr. Coverdale’s talented voice ...and classic rock & blues sound.”