Live performance has been there since music was introduced. People performed spontaneously for the spectators who enjoyed being a part of it. Concerts also include live performances of musicians and singers. Thousands of people come to see these musicians to perform a song or more. These concerts can cost about an average of more than $80 U.S dollars depending on the popularity and appreciation of the musician and singer. In some cases, it costs hundreds of dollars.
When costumers who spend a large amount of fortune on these concerts they expect a time of their life and an excellent performance from their favorite artist/s. However, there are always unfortunate cases where due to some emergencies the concerts get canceled such as security issues or climate hazards that can pose a threat to the artists and the audience.
In other cases, the main artist or musician cancels upon his concert with various excuses such as sudden sickness, accident or any other emergency situation. This can be hugely disappointing for the fans who spent hundreds of dollars on their concert ticket, canceled their own plans and took the time out to get a sight of their favorite artist’s performance. In worse situations, the cancellation may occur at the very last moment when the audience is already there at the venue. This becomes an alarming situation for the concert managers and the producers.
The situation of sudden cancellation is a rare occurrence and when this happens it is not taken on a light note by anyone, whether that may be a high profile singer or musician, or the event managers and the producers who are responsible for the money of the clients. Everyone has made a commitment which requires being fulfilled. Therefore, the reasons for cancelling or postponing a show needs to be genuine and serious such as Miley Cyrus postponing all her concert dates during 2013 due to an illness, while Selena Gomez cancelled her concert in Russia because of her visa rejection (L.A. Times), and Kanye couldn’t perform as his concert equipment was damaged during travel (Washington Post).
Concert arrangers always consider the emergency of sudden cancellations and the provisions are arranged for beforehand. There is always the option of postponing the concert to a date that is suitable to the singer, the venue and the audience because they’ve spent their money and they should be able to attend it so the concert should be avoided during times such as Christmas, Black Friday, cold or unsuitable weather.
Artists cancel on shows at the very last min such as just half an hour before their performance or right when they are backstage and a few seconds away from the stage. This is because they are too desperate to perform and completed their commitment, so they ignore their sickness until they actually can’t perform. Such as Taylor Swift losing her voice during her fall tour (MusicFix).
This is a panic situation for the event managers. The setting up of a concert and the equipment required for the concert is very expensive. Even the booking of the venue cost thousands of dollars. Cancellation not only damages the artist’s reputation but the costs of renting the venue, advertising and promoting, hiring the local vendors, lower level agents, and managers, staff, and security charges are paid in advance. For example, Drake canceled his Philadelphia concert an hour before his performance which led to the loss of millions of dollars for the concert arrangers (The Hollywood Reporter). Everyone receives an equal loss in such cases.
The issue is often solved with rescheduling the show for another date, the singer might be paid less for postponing. The producers suffer the losses, even if is covered by the insurance, their effort goes to waste.
Works Cited
“Selena Gomez Reportedly Denied Russian Visa Over LGBT Issues.”
LA times. N. p., 2014.
“Taylor Swift Cancels Four Concerts As She Loses Her Voice To Bronchitis.”
Thefix.nine.com.au. N. p., 2011.
Drake Cancels Philly Tour Stop an Hour After Show Was Due to Start. (2018). The Hollywood Reporter.
Retrieved from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/drake-cancels-philly-tour-stop-649636
Source, The, and The Source. “Briefly: Kanye West, Mick Jagger, Jenna Bush Hager.”
Washington Post. N. p. 2018
