As music listeners have turned to streaming services to get their music fix, most musicians rely on touring to bring in the big bucks.
With coronavirus causing statewide stay-at-home orders for all of April and potentially May, most tours have been outright cancelled or postponed. Some of the biggest recording artists will take a massive hit income-wise during the 2020 touring season.
Pop star Justin Bieber postponed all 2020 tour dates at the beginning of April. The tour was set to begin in May at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, but won’t happen this year due to the current public health crisis.
“While Justin — along with his band, dancers and crew — has been hard at work preparing an amazing show, he has always put the health and well-being of his fans first and foremost,” a statement read at the time.
“Justin is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get back out on the road and perform in a space that is safe for everyone,” the statement added. “He asks that fans hold on to their tickets, as they will be honored as soon as the dates are rescheduled. Information on rescheduled dates will be forthcoming soon.”
Bieber’s “Purpose” tour, which happened in 2016, made him $250 million alone, according to a report published by Insider. The money the “I Don’t Care” singer makes from touring along with his endorsements make up majority of his net worth, Insider reported.
The “Changes” tour was set to be Bieber’s first tour in the last three years after the album was released on Feb. 14. (RELATED: Coronavirus Is Causing Major Chaos For Spring Music Festivals)
Elton John, whose “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour grossed $212 million in 2019, according to data shared by Pollstar, has postponed his tour dates from March and May until 2021.
Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones postponed its 15-date “No Filter” tour.
“We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour,” the band said in a statement. “We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together — and we’ll see you very soon.”
The Stones grossed $177.8 million from the stadium tour in 2019.
The Korean Pop group BTS also had to cancel 2020 tour dates due to the widespread coronavirus.
After canceling the Asia tour stops of its “Map Of The Soul” tour in late February, BTS announced the postponement of their North American tour in late March. The tour was set to begin April 25 in Santa Clara, California.
The band began touring in August 2019 and had earned $170 million by the end of the year, Pollstar reported.
“It is unavoidable that the concert must be canceled without further delay,” the band said in a statement.
“Please understand that this decision was made after extensive and careful consideration,” the message added.
Musician Michael Bublé, who placed ninth on the Top 100 Worldwide Tours list using Pollstar’s data, has postponed many May dates of his “An Evening With” tour. Bublé grossed $115 million by the end of 2019 after kicking off in February of that year. The tour is currently set to end in October 2020.
The Jonas Brothers, who ranked in the 21st spot on the Top 100 Worldwide Tours list, cancelled a Las Vegas residency set to begin April 1 and last until April 18. The “Happiness Begins” tour in 2019 raked in $81.7 million for the pop stars, Pollstar data showed.
Garth Brooks recently topped the charts as the best-selling country music tour of 2019. Pollstar reported the country music singer grossed $76.1 million despite only performing 13 times during his 2019 stadium tour. Brooks was set to host two stadium tours in May 2020, both have been rescheduled for June at this time.
“Like so many people right now, I just want to get back to what I do,” Brooks said in a statement. “Knowing these shows are eventually going to happen makes me happy.”