Cancelled music tours are hot topic of late. They’re calling it “blue dot fever” - blue dots being the unsold tickets on Ticketmaster’s platform. Acts are struggling to find profitability on the road.
No one seems to have a handle on why this is happening. Let’s not overthink the possibility that the show might not be worth it. Ticket prices, service fees, parking, food & beverage – it adds up to the point of feeling like an uphill climb. Pop music is oversold and the ticket underdelivers.
Blue Dot Fever isn’t about music…
Blue dot fever is more a conversation about the event promotions business. The core element to this business – the music – is perhaps a secondary concern. Promoters are tasked with an age-old ambition of delivering a good time at scale, but conversations about the actual music are not always paramount.
Social norms are shifting. The communal experience of music is metamorphosing. The concert experience is tribal at heart, but larger events today are driven by fashion, influencer culture and dance as much as anything. The music can seem ancillary. The names on the marquee might have more to do with social capital than substantive action.
Music in the future…
Most professional musicians need to play live to fully sustain financially. Musicians in the workaday category might not have to worry so much about Ticketmaster, but blue dot fever is worth noting, as it might indicate a larger cultural shift with where music works in the public sphere.