What’s going on with concert and tour cancellations? Some say artists catching ‘blue dot fever’

Music commentator Eric Alper explains the phenomenon behind this year's concert and tour cancellations.

Recent concert and tour cancellations have sparked social media chatter and grabbed headlines, with some calling the trend that’s afflicting major artists the “blue dot fever.”

While those artists have cited reasons such as health and family issues, music industry expert Eric Alper said they may have actually caught “blue dot fever.”

“Blue dot fever” refers to the blue dots showing unsold seats on Ticketmaster’s venue map, he said.

“It seems to be a trend of weaker ticket sales or cancellations and general industry concerns,” Alper said in a Zoom interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “We’re just seeing quite high-profile artists that were usually guaranteed to sell out suddenly cancel their shows for various reasons.”

The Pussycat Dolls, Meghan Trainor, Zayn Malik, Post Malone and Jelly Roll have all cancelled multiple shows recently, though none of them explicitly said poor ticket sales were behind the cancellations.

What’s behind ‘blue dot fever’?

Alper said rising ticket prices, which have jumped over the past few years, coupled with a high cost of living, are factors. Tickets can cost between $100 and $500 on average, with some even selling for more than $1,000, he said.

“Everything is more expensive when you want to put on an event,” he said, citing higher rents for venues and spiking gas prices. He said concertgoers also have to consider costs for food, insurance and travel including hotels.

“With the high ticket prices, I think fans are budgeting a lot more,” he said. “They’re being a lot more selective about live shows.”

Artists booking large venues may also be behind the cancellations, Alper added.

“The gap between the ambition of selling out that venue and the affordability of the fan base is leaving seats unsold,” he said.

• ‘More than I can take on right now’: Meghan Trainor cancels entire tour, including Toronto show

Still, Alper said “blue dot fever” doesn’t signal trouble for the live music business. As artists scale back or nix big tours, he said smaller and independent artists have gained opportunities.

“They’ve got a lot more fair pricing, they’ve got a lot more fan connection, and they’re finding new momentum and space to grow,” he said.

Alper said he believes “blue dot fever” has been hyped up by haters online.

“I think it is a loud but small group of … people who aren’t fans of certain artists who want to knock these artists down a peg,” he said.