(Toronto) Buying tickets to concerts featuring big names in pop music is increasingly becoming a lottery for their fans.
Posted at 3:27 p.m.
In May, singer Billie Eilish canceled her scheduled concert at the Bell Center in Montreal. The following month, Canadian star Justin Bieber announced the cancellation of the rest of his North American tour. A few weeks later, a general blackout of the Rogers network caused the postponement of the show that The Weeknd was to give in Toronto. Most recently, Shawn Mendes impersonated Bieber.
Even if the circumstances are often beyond the control of the artist, the spectators who have spent a large sum to acquire their ticket for a concert which did not take place say that they feel a persistent frustration.
“Today, it’s an investment and we hope it will pay off,” says Toronto cultural journalist Jill Krajewski. It’s like buying a lottery ticket. »
Cancellations and postponements are not a new phenomenon in the entertainment industry. But with rising ticket prices and rampant inflation, some fans say all it takes is one unfortunate experience to make them reluctant to return to a concert, especially one outside their home. region.
This is the dilemma that Tracy Smith will have to solve the next time she wants to buy a ticket.
She had traveled from Atlanta to hear The Weeknd kick off his After Hours til Dawn tour in his hometown. She was patiently waiting in a line to enter the amphitheater when she learned the show was canceled due to the Rogers network outage.
“Nobody knew what was going on,” she recalls. The queue was getting longer. »
The two tickets for her and her daughter had cost a total of US$800. To this must be added expenses of $2,800 for plane tickets and the hotel room. If the tickets for the concert are refundable, his other expenses are lost, because the concert was canceled the same day it was presented.
And this is not an isolated case.
Eric Alper, a radio host and publicist, says all those cancellations aren’t helping an industry trying to bounce back from the pandemic.
“From a fan perspective, these constant cancellations leave a sour taste in your mouth. They don’t just hear about the cancellation of a concert in Toronto. They learn on the internet that this is also the case in Barcelona, Paris and the United States. It gets into people’s minds. That’s a bigger problem than three or four canceled shows. »
Nicholas Li, an associate professor of economics at Metropolitan University of Toronto, is less convinced developers are running out of trouble
“I sympathize with the people who have had this experience. They must be furious. If there’s one thing consumers don’t like, it’s uncertainty. But the demand is so high that we worry less about people being discouraged by the cancellation of an expensive concert. »
Mr. Alper is not so sure.
He suggests that in 2023 we will see one or the other of these trends: people will return in droves to see concerts or they will show a lack of interest in uncertain events.
He including the example of a concert for which he worked. All the tickets had sold out, but only 70% of the buyers came to attend.
In 2020, Ticketmaster was denounced for its refusal to reimburse concerts that had only been postponed and not canceled. This decision and the resulting uncertainty were not well received by some consumers. Mr. Alper fears that this will affect ticket sales in the future.
“For some, the new date announced for a concert will not work for them. Their financial situation will have changed or they will have lost their job. They would rather get their $1000 back. And it would be fairer if we reimbursed them. »
Show business doesn’t need to see its reputation tarnished by new controversies.
Ipsos released short-term research last week that Canadians expected to spend less on cultural entertainment as inflation hits a 39-year high.
According to this survey, 25% of members of Generation X say they limit their cultural activities compared to 15% of baby boomers.
Faced with such great uncertainty, Mr.me Krakewski says he thinks about artists who must juggle the safety of their fans, the interest of their record company and the need to pay their bills.
“They’re doing their best in a precarious time to travel, let alone sing inside a venue. Everyone rolls the dice and hopes to have a good time. We must remain magnanimous if it does not work. »