Can musicians keep their shows on the road? Heavy costs make touring unrealistic for many acts

Cadence Weapon says touring has always been a risky financial choice for musicians: a gamble between breaking even or losing a little bit of money.

But times have changed. "It's not even worth it for your average artist to get on the road anymore," the Edmonton-born rapper told CBC News.

Weapon won Canada's prestigious Polaris Music Prize in 2021 and went on tour shortly after winning the award. He kept it "bare bones," self-managing the shows; driving the van himself; skipping the lighting crew. After all was said and done, he says he spent $20,000 to lose $2,000.

Concert tours, once a key ingredient in the livelihood of musicians — be they mega popstars, indie favourites or up-and-comers — have become increasingly impractical for many musicians.

Feeling the squeeze of inflation, the effects of the pandemic and an ongoing fear of illness, many artists have scaled back or cancelled live shows entirely. And that's just those who opted to tour in the first place. 

Even as public health circumstances and the cost of living have changed dramatically, audience behaviour and venue safety standards have stayed the same, Weapon said.

"We're risking our lives every night when we go on tour, and we know that."

After two years without the option of live performances, some of the music industry's biggest names are plunging headfirst back into the scene.

But the gruelling tour lifestyle takes its toll: Canadian pop stars like Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes both suspended their tours this year, citing physical and mental health concerns.

Instead of incurring the mental strains and financial expenses that come with multi-leg international tours, other major acts are settling into residencies where their audiences come to them.

Adele, who released her album 30 in 2021 after a six-year hiatus, will soon begin a residency in Las Vegas, and Katy Perry will follow with her own Vegas residency in December. K-pop superstars BTS also completed a brief Las Vegas residency in February.

Harry Styles, whose album Harry's House dropped during a year when he also starred in two movies, launched a residency tour this summer that will see him perform several shows in a limited number of North American cities, including Toronto.

Then there are the juggernauts: Taylor Swift added 17 more stops to her upcoming tour on Friday, including five shows in Los Angeles, making it her biggest U.S. tour ever.

She's released four new albums and re-recorded two earlier albums since her last tour in 2018 — and those songs haven't been performed live at this scale before.