In recent years, several artists have cancelled their North American and U.S. tours because of rising costs. But what really makes touring America so expensive? In this article, we’ll look at several artists who have cancelled their American tours and examine why touring the U.S. is so expensive for artists.
Artists that have cancelled their North American tours because of increasing costs
Just recently, Swedish pop duo Roxette cancelled their 40th anniversary North American tour. A social media statement initially announced that the North American tour would be postponed due to increased logistics and touring costs. However, just hours later, fans began receiving refunds as the tour was cancelled altogether.
Sadly, this is nothing new. In 2022, British rapper Little Simz cancelled her North American tour due to financial reasons. “touring the US for a month would leave me in a huge deficit”. The same happened for Santigold later that year. Due to increased gas, tour bus, hotel and flight costs, she stated that she was “simply unable to make it work”.
A hefty price tag for visas
Before international artists can tour in the U.S., they have to apply for a work visa, such as the O-1B. The application process can involve hundreds of pages of documentation, cost thousands of dollars, and take up to a year to be completed. For major artists, the potential exposure and revenue may justify the expense, but for smaller and emerging artists, the cost becomes a much more difficult calculation. Swedish folk group Kongero, for instance, reportedly lost around $8000 on a U.S. tour, with the complicated visa process contributing to the overall cost.
Long distances drive up touring costs
Due to the vast distances between major U.S. cities, travel costs can quickly add up. For example, driving between California’s two most populous cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles, takes just under six hours. In Europe, the same amount of driving time could take you through several countries and major cities, highlighting how much more spread out the U.S. touring market can be.
Although the distances themselves are nothing new, they become increasingly costly when combined with rising accommodation costs and transportation costs.
Blue dot fever
Another emerging problem for artists has been named the “blue dot fever”. It refers to the problems many artists are facing regarding empty ticket seats. It stems from the available unsold seats or “blue dots” on the Ticketmaster platform. Although the phenomenon isn’t unique to the U.S., expensive American ticket prices can highlight a weaker demand in ticket sales.
According to the entertainment and marketing company AMW, the average price for a concert ticket in 2026 will cost you $144 in the U.S. The same number in 2020 was $82, an increase by nearly 76 %. Post Malone and Meghan Trainor are two examples who some speculate have fallen victim to the ”blue dot fever” which some claim have resulted in cancelled tours, although this hasn’t been confirmed.
Ultimately, this creates a vicious cycle where artists need to raise ticket prices because of rising touring costs. At the same time, customers may not be willing and/or able to pay the full price of a concert ticket.
High ticket prices create another problem
In another article we discussed Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation’s dominance in the ticket industry in the U.S. It led to a lawsuit where the Justice Department sued to break the entertainment giant.
The lawsuit found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster together control over 80 % of primary ticketing for concerts at big venues. The Justice Department argued that higher prices and fees could be charged that had no real connection to higher costs. The lawsuit also concluded that fees paid to attend concerts in the country far exceeds fees in other parts of the world.
Conclusion
In recent years, a lot of artists are choosing to skip North America, and the U.S. in particular, while planning their tours. Although there isn’t a single reason behind this trend, a combination of complicated and expensive visa processes, rising transportation and accommodation costs and uncertain ticket sales seem to be a few of the factors. For major artists, touring America can still be highly lucrative as the exposure and potential revenue outweighs the costs. For smaller and more mid-sized artists however, the margins are often much tighter and can make a tour in the U.S. a larger financial risk.