Danish venue Radar has introduced a ban on Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, raising wider questions for venues and festivals over how wearable recording technology should be handled at live events.

Guests wearing the glasses at the Aarhus venue will be asked to put them away, according to venue director Martin Aagaard Jensen, who outlined the decision in a commentary published by Kulturmonitor.

The Meta Ray-Ban glasses include an integrated camera and microphone and can connect with AI-powered services. Unlike smartphones or conventional cameras, the recording technology is incorporated into what appears to be an ordinary pair of glasses, making it potentially less obvious to people nearby when recording is taking place.

Protecting staff and volunteers

Aagaard Jensen said one of Radar’s main concerns is protecting its volunteers and maintaining what the venue considers a safe and trust-based environment.

Radar relies heavily on volunteers, who may work behind the bar, welcome audiences, assist guests or deal with conflicts during events. According to Jensen, they should be able to carry out those roles without having to consider whether an interaction could be recorded without their knowledge.

Photography and video already form part of the live music environment, he acknowledged, but Radar sees a distinction between visible recording using phones or cameras and wearable devices that can record less conspicuously.

Guests arriving at Radar with smart glasses will therefore be asked to remove them and keep them in their bag while inside the venue.

Wider implications for live events

Radar’s decision highlights an issue that could increasingly affect the wider live entertainment sector as AI-enabled wearable devices become more common.

Beyond staff and volunteer privacy, venues and festival organisers may need to consider how the technology affects artists, audiences and backstage areas.

For artists, smart glasses could raise questions around unauthorised recording of performances or unreleased material. For audiences, the issue may involve consent and the expectation of privacy during interactions that would previously have been unlikely to be recorded.

There could also be implications for security, artist hospitality, accreditation and restricted areas, where wearable cameras may be more difficult for staff to identify than conventional recording equipment.

Aagaard Jensen argues that the presence of such devices could ultimately influence how comfortable people feel participating in cultural events, whether as performers, audiences or volunteers.

Should venues and festivals introduce policies?

Radar’s approach raises a broader question for the live music business: should venues and festivals begin establishing specific policies for smart glasses and other wearable recording devices before their use becomes widespread?

Promoters and venue operators may need to consider whether existing rules covering cameras and recording equipment are sufficient, or whether wearable technology requires a separate policy.

Among the questions facing organisers are whether smart glasses should be permitted inside venues, whether they should be treated in the same way as professional recording equipment, how restrictions could realistically be enforced, and whether artists should be able to request that wearable cameras are prohibited at individual shows.

There is also the question of how organisers balance new technology with audience convenience, accessibility and legitimate uses of smart glasses.

Radar has chosen a clear position: protecting what it describes as a trust-based environment takes priority over allowing the devices.

As wearable AI technology becomes increasingly mainstream, other venues, festivals and promoters may soon have to decide where they draw the line.

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