Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporates
Tour cancellations are rising as more musicians struggle to earn money from live performances. What once accounted for 60% to 80% of most artists’ revenue in the streaming era has become a far less reliable source of income.
Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporates.
While Live Nation reports rising sales and profits and Taylor Swift breaks records, much of the independent live music industry is struggling.
There are multiple reasons for the shift.
Inflation, rising wages, touring costs, and increased competition are all to blame. The pressures are the same for the independent music venues and smaller festivals that most artists count on.
Two glaring examples of the crisis are the canceled tours of two established artists who toured profitably before COVID and cost hikes.
Helmet & Local H Cancel
Alt-metal band Helmet announced they are canceling their upcoming tour with strong opener Local H, citing financial challenges. The tour, marking the 30th anniversary of their 1994 album “Betty” was scheduled to start at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, NH, on September 19th and end at the Machine Shop in Flint on October 10th.
The Armed & ho9909 Cancel
Detroit-based hardcore-punk band The Armed also announced the cancellation of their upcoming tour with ho9909, citing their own challenges.
“This is incredibly painful to do. But the domino effect of some cancellations beyond our control (weather, health, etc) in combination with some personal emergencies had forced costly, drastic pivots over the summer. This led to a financial situation that we were hoping to quietly outmaneuver in the background over the last couple of months. However, as the tour moving into pre-production has called for resources we simply do not have, we’ve had to face facts that our current scenario is simply untenable. We cannot, at this moment, bring you the show,” Armed shared via Instagram on Wednesday.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
Impressed by the article? Head over to FM WhatsApp Download for more information.
Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporates
Tour cancellations are rising as more musicians struggle to earn money from live performances. What once accounted for 60% to 80% of most artists’ revenue in the streaming era has become a far less reliable source of income.
Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporates.
While Live Nation reports rising sales and profits and Taylor Swift breaks records, much of the independent live music industry is struggling. https://bit.ly/3AFzI0W also provide Alt-metal band Helmet announced they are cancelling their upcoming tour with strong opener Local H, citing financial challenges. The tour, marking the 30th anniversary of their 1994 album “Betty” was scheduled to start at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, NH, on September 19th and end at the Machine Shop in Flint on October 10th.