To tour or not to tour: Artists second-guess going on road as touring gets harder
Global News
The global touring ecosystem is changing. There be challenges ahead, some so big that many artists are electing to stay off the road.
At first glance, the global touring industry seems to be doing well.
Live Nation, the largest concert promoter and ticketing company, reported earlier this month that it was having an amazing year. More than 100 million tickets have been sold for events in 2025 so far. Compare that with 2019, the last big year before COVID-19, when Live Nation had sales of 98 million tickets for the entire 12 months.
Economic slowdown? Tariff-related issues? Fan rebellions against the high cost of tickets? None of those dire predictions seems to be coming true. Live music is having a banner year!
Well, maybe for some.
Coachella didn’t sell out for the second year running, and of those who did go, more than half financed their ticket purchases.
Other festivals have been cancelled. According to tracker Music Festival Wizard, 44 events have disappeared from the global concert calendar so far this year. In the U.K., promoters shaken by the 72 festival cancellations last year are bracing for more problems. A few Australian festivals won’t be happening because of rising costs. Four-day general admission tickets for Lollapalooza sold out within an hour, although one- and two-day tickets as well as VIP passes are still available. Just this week, a festival company called Wannasee dropped more than 10 events across Britain. The company has gone under.
The current U.S. administration isn’t helping matters. After unilaterally raising the price of visas for foreign acts, there are all the stories of Homeland Security issues at the border. Who wants to risk setting up an expensive American tour when a border patrol agent can refuse you entry because… well, for any reason they choose. Something on your social media feed found on your phone that they don’t like? You’re not getting in. You might even be detained for some time before being deported.
If you’re a top-tier performer, you might be immune to such petty concerns, but even Beyoncé had trouble with her Cowboy Carter tour, with thousands of tickets unsold even as opening night approached. That April 28 date in Los Angeles struggled to sell the remaining 3,200 tickets. She even had to lower prices to fill seats in other markets, annoying fans who bought tickets early. Star power, it seems, isn’t always enough.
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