At first glance, the global touring industry appears to be on the steady pace.
Live Nation, the largest concert promoter and ticketing company, reported earlier this month that they had a great year. To date, more than 100 million tickets have been sold at the event in 2025. Compared to 2019, it was the last major year before Covid-19, with Live Nation selling 98 million tickets over 12 months.
The economy slows? Customs related issues? Fan rebellion against ticket cost? None of these disastrous predictions appear to have come to fruition. Live Music is spending the year of banners!
Well, maybe for some.
Coachella was not sold out during their second year running, and more than half of those who went, funded the purchase of tickets.
Other festivals have been cancelled. According to the Tracker Music Festival Wizard, 44 events have disappeared from the global concert calendar so far this year. In the UK, promoters who were shaken up by the cancellation of last year's 72 festivals have more problems. Due to rising costs, some Australian festivals do not occur. Lollapalooza's 4-day general admission tickets sold out within an hour, but one-day and two-day tickets and VIP passes are still available. Just this week, a festival company called Wannasee dropped more than 10 events across the UK. The company is down.
The current US administration is not supporting the issue. After unilaterally raising the prices of visas for foreign acts, the border has all the stories of homeland security issues. Those who want to risk setting up an expensive American tour when Border Patrol agents can refuse your entry… well, because for some reason they chose them. Have you found something on your social media feed that you don't like them on your phone? You're not in. You may be detained for a while before being deported.
If you're the best performer, you might be immune to such trivial concerns, but even Beyoncé had problems with her Cowboy Carter tour. The April 28th date in Los Angeles struggled to sell the remaining 3,200 tickets. She had to lower prices to fill seats in other markets. Star power doesn't seem to be enough.
There are several bright spots. Fall tours on North America and Europe roads have been cleaned, with tickets for the Oasis Reunion last year in 2025 gone, but those seem to be exceptions. Many artists choose to stay at home.
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According to the music charts, the number of artists on tours has steadily declined between 2022 and 2024.
Although not covered, extrapolating these figures to include new artists is fascinating. For them, the costs have risen so much that many people have reduced their tour plans, while others have chosen to stay home completely. Transport, accommodation, equipment rentals, Roadley – they've all been rising dramatically in prices since Covid-19. Risk takers discover that the margins are very small, and the difference between turning a small profit and losing much can depend on one or two gigs.
Another problem is the low ticket sales. While venues make money at bars, small acts often survive on tickets and merchandise sales. Covid-19 appears to have created a shift where young people don't go out to watch live music at clubs like they did in the previous generation. And those who go there don't drink that much. Last year I had some conversations with bar and club owners.
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One hypothesis is that a cohort of at least two young concert participants missed their adulthood when they were finally allowed to see live music at a licensed facility. Combine it with the cost of drinks, the availability of cheap and legal cannabis, and the dating app.
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Conclusion? The entire global ecosystem is evolving to meet these new economic realities. And then there were some developments.
Live Nation is the leader in this, squeezing things down with a $30 annual ticket offer that covers hundreds of acts. The artist actually likes this plan. Because it doesn't affect their revenue. Once you have a guaranteed fee for each gig, it's up to LiveNation to make a profit. The company owns so many amphitheaters and has so many venue deals that Live Nation is making revenue from conventional cuts from food and drinks (particularly not-cheap alcohol), parking and merchandise sales. Artists will be on payday and otherwise play in front of more people.
In the UK, the government created a live UK trust. An additional £1 extra will be added to the price of tickets sold at stadiums or arena shows (a venue with more than 5,000 capacity venues) and will be relocated to small venues across the country. Mumford & Sons, Pulp and Diana Ross are among the artists supporting this initiative. So far, over £500,000 has been promoted so far, and Mana has headed for a small club from Lizard Point in the South to Stack in the Shetland Islands to the north. This is added to independent MP Jeremy Corbyn's A Summer To Save Music Concert series.
Here in Canada, we won't be getting a budget until fall. It remains to be seen whether Carney's Liberal Party will listen to the arts community's pleas. I think you'll find out in autumn.
Musicians always love to perform live shows and have an audience that loves it. But it's becoming more and more difficult to make that connection. The good news is that you can help. Spend the evening with live music, like yourself and your local small venues and emerging artists. If you really want to help, go to a show with slow foot traffic on Tuesday or Wednesday. And whatever you do, buy some products and vinyl along your way. It creates a world of difference.
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