To think concert cancelling has become far too prevalent

[MXVIT]

and I think its a terrible precedent to have been set

I am probably just an unfeeling wench but I think it is dreadful how easy this has become to do, Lewis Capaldi taking three weeks off to be "Lewis from Glasgow" again bascially saying "I know you've forked out on hotels and travel, and thanks, but sorry"

For me it just shows a huge disrespect to fans. When you're a rich and famous star (all from the hard earned money from your fans) and all of the luxury that that life affords - you don't get to turn it on and off, and I'm sorry, but you don't get to put yourself first 100% of the time. Thats the trade off.

I would never buy tickets to concerts again after the spate of this happening. Adele, Sam Smith, Lewis etc.

AIBU ?

You've been treated awfully and I'm sorry that you have been. But that doesn't mean that others should experience or go through the same thing.
Given the chance, don't you wish you could have taken more time off to deal with those incidents? Don't you wish your employer would be more understanding and have your back?

To be fair I'm not sure I'd be too keen on a depressed or mentally unwell surgeon working on me!

I'd rather they had time off and have the inconvenience of a cancellation (and yes, my last op on my heart was cancelled and pushed back twice and dh's op just last month has also been delayed until next month, so I do know it's not ideal) than have someone who isn't fit to work operating on me!

I'm self employed so technically don't have a "boss". (Can still get "fired" though) Also it means if I don't work I don't get paid. So while it might be nice to take weeks or months off, I have chosen a profession (which given my time again I would not do) which means I cannot do those things. Its just life.

It's incredibly unprofessional. Plan more breaks before selling tickets. They are jumping on our ability to accept cancellation through covid and turning it into the norm.

Yes this was my first thought - it may help the burn out, drugs, and death of prior generations.

But I'd be gutted if I was in the position of having shelled out on travel, hotel etc to be cancelled

This. I think people don't fully appreciate just how bloody hard it can be to live with Tourettes and some of the people I've worked with who have the condition struggle to even get a brief single word out in the middle of a tic attack - let alone put on a concert to a packed venue. I didn't appreciate how blooming painful their tics could get either - it's not just little twitches and possibly a bit of swearing like the stereotype can think.

I'm assuming the Glasto focus because it's only a short festival set and the emphasis is not on him as a headliner so it's a manageable goal while he recovers somewhat.

Okay but then in the same argument, entertainers have chosen a profession where they can cancel gigs and shows and prioritise themselves if they want. They have to deal with however those decisions impact their career.

Well in theory anyone can choose to prioritise themselves. But no one can then complain if their then career tanks.

One of my daughter's friends has Tourette's and suffers from related tics and seizures linked to it. Started getting much worse when she was about 16/17 following a viral infection and continues today, aged 21.

She doesn't know when they will start to ramp up and become worse, so she can't plan to have time off work/university when it suits. She can be fine one week and then have debilitating issues the next.

It can be really difficult to manage. It's great he is managing to still do what he loves whilst suffering from this, along with the mental health issues that can come with it.

I've been going to concerts for several years now and cancellations have always happened. Sometimes for far less of a reason too!

Concert tickets, when bought through official channels, are pretty much always refunded if there is a cancellation, or if you can't make the rearranged date.

I always ensure any accommodation is refundable when booking for things that could change and would be out of my control.

I went to a concert recently abroad. We chose a place we'd still be happy to visit even if the concert didn't happen.

I really like lewis capaldi and he seems like a genuine, down to Earth guy.
I bet he wrote that status himself, whereas others would get their manager to write it or word it.

He also has Tourette’s which can be physically and mentally draining and I think looking out for your health (either mental or physical) is more important than anything else, especially things like work/performances which aren’t life or death situations.

But it does frustrate me that more breaks aren’t put into these tours.

I don’t know how they work but I can never understand why these performers burn themselves out by doing world tours in such a short amount of time, instead of spreading it out for longer.

People are saying it’s the younger stars but some of the older stars (especially child stars) were treated horrendously and many did burn out or turn to drugs to cope.

There are not many stars from 10+ years ago who don’t have a story to tell about being overworked.

But back then they had no choice but to carry on or lose their fane whereas now the stars can stay connected to their fans through social media and they don’t need to do as much to be able to get publicity.

I grew up with metal bands in the 80s, apart from Axl Pose what most people thought was a cunt they carried on,

Metallica had to divert plane to get their drummer to hospital en route to Donnington festival landed in England carried on with guest drummers step on pyro carry on a few nights later with second and third degree burns

broken arms, legs, singers with broken ribs. Tours with 5 gigs a week sleeping a drafty buses. Even death only stopped them for a few weeks

Who can forget Dave grohl with his broken leg.

The singer from iron maiden fell off the stage a couple of meters broke his ribs carried on.
Drummer from Def Leppard had his arm ripped off, adapt and keep playing after a few months their guitarist has had cancer for years, keeps going.

It’s an industry where there is going to be constant rejection constant moving, constant pressure, constant criticism. People probably need to consider whether their mental health is up to these sorts of things before going into it. Being a touring musician is fucking hard, people have misconceptions of fame.

i think you should be able to sue for lost travel/hotel costs if they cancel.

I agree op.

I have been concerned about Tom Jones touring around Europe this summer with 30 concerts in 8 weeks at the age of 83! How can he do the travelling and performing and all it entails, sometimes on consecutive nights?

They should just take more drugs and carry on. Worked in the 60s and 70s!

I'm inclined to say YABU. If people can't afford wasted travel and host costs, then they should bear that in mind when buying tickets.

For myself I can't even be bothered to make the trip to big London venues even when I am given the tickets for free for work. I certainly wouldn't make the 1 hour trip for LC, let alone stay overnight.

The problem is the music industry overworking musicians. The musician gets blamed and loses the respect and trust of the fans when he/she breaks under pressure imposed by record labels and tour promoters.

I might be wrong but is part of the problem also that since the rise of Spotify, YouTube etc, live performances are the only way for most musicians to get any decent money. I suspect the amount of money actually changing hands for access to songs/albums (be they physical or digital) is just a small fraction of what it used to be pre 2000.

Elvis got deeper into drug addiction to cope with his heavy tour schedule. His story was tragic.

Adele and Sam Smith are well into their 30s so hardly ‘the snowflake generation’. Lewis Capaldi has well documented health issues which are exacerbated by stress. What has changed is willingness to talk about it. When pop stars cancelled gigs in the past they didn’t give a reason and everyone assumed it was a drug overdose or syphilis or they’d lost their voices and we accepted it. It was entirely possible they’d had serious mental health issues. Nowadays singers and bands make relatively little money from albums and singles, and so touring is the big money spinner for them and their management/hangers on. This is why there are so many gigs to go to these days and why so many bands tour relentlessly. I’m only surprised this doesn’t happen more - singers/song writers are a commodity and there are newer younger prettier more talented faces coming up behind them constantly - ready to take their place. It’s no wonder they are overcommitted, and the only surprise is that this doesn’t happen more frequently. The people who look after them need to curb their greed and take better care that they don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

The absolutely insane cost of tickets and sometimes sold out a year in advance! And they think an apology will make up for it? Ah, i don't feel like it and because he's a big star everyone is ah poor soul, mind yourself...
World gone mad.

Shows get cancelled for many reasons, it's not always the artist being 'a snowflake'.

The logistics around a 'major' show is unbelievable. It's not just 'show up and sing'. Tour planning can take a year or more just getting the multitude of things that it takes to make a good show organized and planned out. Unfortunately they're like dominoes, if one piece falls the others follow. This is what happened to Adele's Vegas residency. She wasn't being a diva, things fell apart 'backstage' and she took the 'blame' rather than point fingers.

A really good artist doesn't want to give a half-assed performance. If their voice or playing isn't in 'tip top' shape they know if they go out and sing or play their fans will be extremely disappointed and there will be 'fallout'. Plus everyone, high and low, needs to put their own health first. Celine Dion's recent cancellation is an example of this. I daresay that this would also apply in cases of true mental health issues or exhaustion.

I know there are divas/divos who cancel because of tantrums. My son works in the music industry and has told me some epic stories, none of which I'm at liberty to share because he'd kill me. Plus that would be the end of any juicy gossip.

But give an artist a break. Yes, it'd disappointing. But as long as they 'make it right' by issuing refunds or rescheduling then they're doing right by their fans.

It’s the fault of his management. He’s obviously very vulnerable and they are over scheduling him. They use them until they break and then appear surprised when they have nervous breakdowns or fall foul of drug/alcohol addiction.

However, they way he has worded his statement is very badly thought out. I would just have said he needs to take some time out for his mental health and left it at that. All the stuff about being ready for Glastonbury will only get people’s backs up.

Absolutely- around 2000 there was the whole Napster situation. It was clearly pointed out by a number of musicians that precisely this situation would happen, record companies wouldn’t put money into developing new acts, they’d want acts that would sell out stadiums immediately, gig tickets would rise massively in price merchandise would go through the roof. Those musicians sounding the alarm bell were crucified.

people used to tour to support their albums, the tour itself was often a bit of a loss leader or hopefully break even to shift albums. Now it’s the other way round.

Artists built themselves up first supporting bigger acts than headlining small venues, then slightly bigger venues, a slot third on the bill at a festival. Maybe a couple of arenas then headlining a fesitival then some stadiums after then had learned their craft. Record companies just won’t invest in this strategy which is probably far better for the artist anymore.

Yanbu. LC should know himself well enough by now to know if his schedule is going to be too much.

This is exactly what I think.

See, what baffles me is that if we're comparing touring musicians to 'other' occupations needing mental health days and blah2... There are plenty of occupations with similar constraints, it's grind and get out once you've made your money. Investment banking, working for a large tech company, etc.

Why don't performers do the same - is it the lure of the 'celeb' lifestyle (which, if they're controlled to such an extent isn't all that it's made out to be?) Is an ordinary life beneath them?

Is it the buzz of performing for large crowds?

Because getting another job is so easy

Why do you refuse to recognise the responsibility of the employer not to overload the workforce?