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This is one of the saddest things I have ever read on social media. It’s about one of my very favourite bands, Animal Collective, who all together now
have been forced to cancel their UK/EU tour for November. I have waited years to see them and had a ticket for the show at Bristol SWX, which isn’t now going to happen. Read this from the band and weep:
Friends, we are absolutely gutted to announce today that we are making the decision to cancel our UK/EU dates for this November. We love playing music for you and truly wish we could be there. It has been a wild year for us trying to push through a mountain of touring obstacles related to COVID and the economy. Three of us got bad cases of Covid. We were forced to cancel shows and lost large amounts of the income that sustains us and our families. The one constant has been that we have had an incredible time playing music in front of our fans at every show. You are all amazing. We chose to push through because we love to do it. But preparing for this tour we were looking at an economic reality that simply does not work and is not sustainable. From inflation, to currency devaluation, to bloated shipping and transportation costs, and much much more, we simply could not make a budget for this tour that did not lose money even if everything went as well as it could. We have always been the kind of people to persevere through the difficult times and get on stage unless our health prevented it. We are choosing not to take the risk to our mental and physical health with the economic reality of what that tour would have been. We hope you understand and that you know we would not make a choice like this lightly. We truly want nothing more than to make it out there again. Thank you so much to our team, the promoters and venues who worked so hard on this tour for us. We look forward to getting back out to play for all of you and hope you will be there with us when we do.
*please go to your point of purchase for your ticket refund*
I don’t feel sorry for me because that would be rather pathetic but I feel desperately for musicians in general and Animal Collective in particular. I was so excited about seeing them live because main man Panda Bear is fast becoming one of my musical heroes. That he is, effectively, being denied the chance to earn a decent living at something he and his band do so brilliantly is tragic. So, is this the way live music is going?
The answer to that is not straightforward. The superstar acts, like Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys, can easily tour profitably because of the fanbases both enjoy. Additionally, established bands can earn a living by gigging at small halls on a regular basis. But the smaller, up and coming bands, as well as long established bands who haven’t yet hit the jackpot are in trouble.
In years gone by, those acts could make money from record sales. Now those earnings avenues have gone with the advent of streaming, or legalised theft of people’s work, as I prefer to call it. I always buy, never stream, because I want the artists I love to get paid for their work. But this is not the direction of travel for music. And unless things change, our choices will diminish in terms of who we see live.
I hope that one day I will finally get to see Animal Collective. However, I won’t be holding my breath. In football terms, they are probably League Two or the National League. And as with football, most people would rather watch the Premier League and sod the rest.
