Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Other Musicians Set To Lose Millions to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a temporary halt on safely attending concerts in person. Therefore, major stars slated to go on tour in 2020, like Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish, have been forced to postpone or cancel their shows.
More than just disappointing for fans, being unable to tour will be a huge financial hit for some of the music industry’s most recognizable names. Here’s a look at some of the biggest acts who were supposed to hit the road, and how much money could be lost.
Last updated: Aug. 7, 2020
Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton has postponed the end of his Friends and Heroes Tour. The final five dates will be rescheduled for spring 2021.
In 2018, Shelton’s Country Music Freaks tour grossed $5.6 million from its first six sold-out performances, according to Billboard.
Still entertaining fans, Shelton and girlfriend Gwen Stefani released a new single “Happy Anywhere” in July 2020. That same month, they also joined forces with Trace Adkins for an Encore Drive-In Nights concert, which has been shown at drive-ins and outdoor theaters across the country.
Taylor Swift
Unlike many musicians holding out hope they’ll be able to perform later in the year, Taylor Swift canceled all live appearances and performances in 2020. She didn’t have a major tour planned, but her U.S. and Brazil shows will be rescheduled.
Swift was slated to hold two, two-day U.S. Lover Fest events in July — one in Los Angeles and the other in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Not surprisingly, both sold out.
In 2018, the popstar’s Reputation Stadium Tour grossed a total of $345.7 million, including $30.5 million in its final five shows, according to Billboard.
Much to her fans’ delight, Swift released a new album, “Folklore,” in July 2020.
Bon Jovi
The Bon Jovi 2020 Tour was due to begin June 10, in Tacoma, Washington, but the 20-date trek has been canceled. This will result in a massive financial loss, considering his This House Is Not For Sale Tour grossed $72.7 million over 55 shows in 2017 and 2018, according to Pollstar.
Still connecting with fans, the band debuted new singles “American Reckoning” and “Do What You Can” in July 2020. Their next album “2020” will be released on Oct. 2, 2020.
Snoop Dogg
Originally slated to begin in April 2020, Snoop Dogg rescheduled the U.K. and Ireland leg of his I Wanna Thank Me Tour. The tour will now kick off Feb. 11, 2021, in Manchester, U.K.
Beyond not wanting to disappoint his fans, it makes sense that Snoop Dogg wants the five-show tour to go on, as it has the potential to earn approximately $6.7 million.
Celine Dion
After initially rescheduling much of her Courage World Tour for late 2020, Celine Dion has postponed the entire tour until 2021. The 32-city European leg of the tour will resume in March 2021, but new dates for the North American leg haven’t yet been announced.
The tour’s first 19 shows earned $33.2 million, according to Billboard.
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Elton John
The remainder of Elton John’s North American 2020 dates on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour have been postponed. Originally scheduled from March 26 through July 8, the shows will now take place in 2021.
John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour grossed $24 million from 11 shows in November 2019, according to Billboard.
Committed to entertaining, the “Elton John: Classic Concert Series” was launched on July 3. The pandemic-friendly series allows fans to stream some of his most iconic concerts on YouTube each week.
Miranda Lambert
Her Wildcard Tour was supposed to hit the road this spring, but Miranda Lambert has postponed all 10 shows until October. The tour now kicks off on Oct. 8 in Spokane, Washington, and ends Oct. 23 in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 2018, the country superstar’s Livin’ Like Hippies tour grossed just under $14 million in 24 shows, according to Pollstar. Fans paid an average of $58.47 to see Lambert live in concert.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber’s Changes Tour, a 45-date stadium and arena circuit, was set to debut May 14 in Seattle. However, his first tour in nearly three years has been postponed until 2021. The tour has been rerouted and 19 new arena dates have been added.
The popstar stands to make serious money from his Changes Tour. By the time his two-year Purpose tour ended in 2017, it had amassed more than $250 million from 140 performances, according to Billboard.
BTS
After rescheduling four mid-April launch dates of the Map of the Soul Tour in their native Korea, BTS has postponed their North American shows. This could mean a major financial hit, considering the group’s 20-show Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour brought in $117 million, according to Billboard.
Hard at work during the pandemic, the group will debut a new single in English on Aug. 21 and plans to release a new album later in 2020.
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Lionel Richie
In April, Lionel Richie took to Twitter to inform fans that his 2020 European tour would be rescheduled for summer 2021. The 25-show tour will now begin on June 3, 2021, in Wrexham, U.K.
Richie brought in an average of $726,667 per performance during his 37-show tour in 2017, according to Pollstar.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones have postponed their No Filter North American tour. The 15-show tour was slated to begin May 8 in San Diego and wrap up July 9 in Atlanta.
If the rock legends are unable to reschedule the tour, they’ll miss out on a massive payday. In summer 2019, the band played a 16-show U.S. stadium tour that grossed $177.8 million, according to Pollstar.
While waiting to get back on the road, the group will release the album “Goats Head Soup 2020” — an updated version of the classic — on Sept. 4.
Billie Eilish
Her first global arena trek began in Miami on March 9, but Billie Eilish had to swiftly postpone the remaining North American shows of her 42-date Where Do We Go? World Tour.
In total, 11 shows have been postponed so far. This could result in roughly $21.5 million in losses if the concerts aren’t rescheduled.
At present, seven international tour dates are still listed on Eilish’s website, but these dates have been postponed.
She released her first quarantine single “My Future” on July 30.
Alice Cooper
He was supposed to be on a spring North American tour, but Alice Cooper was forced to reschedule his shows. His website informs fans the tour is being rescheduled for fall 2020.
The 16-date tour was slated to kick off March 31 in Niagara Falls. If the dates aren’t rescheduled, this could result in losses of approximately $4.8 million.
There for his fans from afar, Cooper released the single “Don’t Give Up” in May 2020, which addresses the coronavirus pandemic.
Cher
COVID-19 has forced Cher to postpone her Here We Go Again Tour for a second time. The iconic diva has also postponed performances of her Classic Cher residency at MGM’s Park Theater in Las Vegas. New dates have not yet been announced for either.
In 2019, Cher had her biggest touring year yet, grossing $98.6 million from her Here We Go Again Tour and $9.6 million from her Classic Cher residency, according to Billboard.
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Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias
They were supposed to hit the road together, but Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias have postponed their fall 2020 North American tour. Their 25-show tour will now kick off Sept. 3, 2021, in Phoenix.
In 2017, Iglesias performed 41 shows with Pitbull, which grossed an average of $1.1 million per show, according to Pollstar.
Chris Stapleton
Country music star Chris Stapleton has rescheduled all dates of his 2020 All-American Road Show for 2021. His new All-American Road Show Tour dates range from April to November.
His 2019 All-American Road Show Tour grossed $30.9 million, according to Billboard.
Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters have rescheduled their 25th-anniversary tour. Instead of the originally planned April kickoff, the group will now launch their 11-show Van Tour on Oct. 1 in Hamilton, Ontario.
The band rescheduled its June and July European tour dates for 2021.
In 2018, the Foo Fighters earned $47 million, according to Forbes, thanks in part to earning seven figures per night on the road.
Santana
The pandemic caused Santana to cancel their European tour. The Miraculous Supernatural 2021 Tour will now kick off on June 18, 2021, in Chula Vista, California.
Santana also has a standing residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. The band was scheduled to perform eight shows in May, all of which were canceled. Santana also canceled all fall shows at the venue.
All these cancellations will likely mean millions lost for the group, as they gross an average of $409,225 per show, according to Pollstar.
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Green Day
Sitting out 2020, Green Day has postponed all scheduled appearances — including their Hella Mega Tour — until 2021. The rockers earned $11.61 million touring in 2017, according to Billboard.
In the meantime, the band released “This Isn’t a Dream,” their cover of Blondie’s “Dreaming,” in May 2020.
Journey
On May 4, Journey announced the cancellation of its 2020 tour, which will be very costly. In 2018, the band’s 58-city tour with Def Leppard grossed $97.1 million, according to Billboard.
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Kenny Chesney
Originally slated to begin April 18 in Arlington, Texas, Kenny Chesney has postponed his Chillaxification Tour until 2021. Chesney’s 2018 Trip Around the Sun Tour earned $114.3 million, according to Billboard.
Working hard to keep his fans spirits’ up during the pandemic, the country music superstar released his new single “Happy Does” in June 2020.
Kiss
On March 12, Kiss announced that the final three shows of the spring leg of the rockers’ End of the Road Tour have been rescheduled for early October. In June, the group postponed its remaining European dates of the tour, with performances originally slated for June and July.
The final seven shows of the first leg of this same tour — which ended on April 13, 2019 — grossed a combined total of $10 million, according to Billboard.
Kiss has dozens of performance dates listed on their website — starting with Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 28 — but it’s unknown if the show will go on.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam has postponed its 16-date North American tour, which was slated to begin March 18 in Toronto. The group also had a summer 2020 European tour in the works, which has been postponed until June and July 2021.
The rockers’ Aug. 20, 2018, show at Chicago’s Wrigley Field brought in $7.1 million and their Sept. 4, 2018, show at Boston’s Fenway Park grossed $6.7 million, according to Billboard. Clearly, canceling even one show could be seriously costly.
On Aug. 1, Pearl Jam was featured in a virtual Lollapalooza 2020 livestream on the Lollapalooza YouTube channel.
Madonna
The Material Girl was forced to cancel the March 10 and 11 dates of her Madame X Tour in Paris after the Office of the Police prohibited events with more than 1,000 people in attendance.
Launched in 2019, Madonna earned $9.6 million from the first 16 shows of this tour, which debuted at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, New York, according to Pollstar.
Marc Anthony
Initially scheduled for spring 2020, Marc Anthony postposed four dates of his U.S. Opus Tour. At present, all shows are still on, starting Oct. 9 in San Jose, California, and ending Nov. 7 in Orlando, Florida.
Anthony grossed an average of $1.2 million per performance in 2019, according to Pollstar.
Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki kicked off his The Color of Noise Tour on March 5, but the DJ only made it through the first few dates before deciding to hit pause. This resulted in the postponement of nearly two dozen shows.
In 2017, Aoki grossed an average of more than $214,000 per show on the U.S. leg of his international tour, with all shows sold out, according to Pollstar. Assuming he still has at least the same earning power, millions are currently on the line for Aoki with his 2020 tour up in the air.
In July, Aoki performed at the Tomorrowland Around the World virtual festival.
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind was set to hit the road in spring 2020 with the Screamer Tour PT2. Dates for the 13-show tour were initially postponed but have since been canceled.
In 2017, the band embarked on both a summer and fall tour — the Summer Gods Tour and An Evening With Third Eye Blind: Fall of the Summer Gods Tour, which grossed $8.1 million, according to Pollstar.
The band debuted its documentary film “Motorcycle Drive By” on May 29, as part of We Are One: A Global Film Festival.
Zac Brown Band
The Zac Brown Band made it five stops into their spring Owl Tour before choosing to hit pause on the remaining 13 dates. The group was scheduled to kick off their Roar with the Lions summer tour on May 24, in Gilford, New Hampshire, which included more than 30 shows.
However, they announced the cancellation of both tours on March 20, due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns.
Canceling the tours will be a huge financial hit for the Zac Brown Band, as they grossed $43 million on the road in 2019, according to Pollstar.
Staying busy in quarantine, the group released the singles “The Man Who Loves You the Most” in June and “You and the Islands” in July.
Dead and Company
Dead and Company has canceled its 17-date summer tour. This will result in a massive earnings loss, as the band’s 2019 summer tour grossed $40.9 million, according to Billboard.
The group hosted the virtual celebration “Daze Between” from Aug. 1-9 in honor of the 25th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death.
John Legend
He was supposed to take his Bigger Love Tour on the road from August to September 2020, but John Legend has postponed all shows until 2021. The 27-show tour will now begin on Aug. 11, 2021, in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Legend grossed an average of $444,949 per show in 2019, according to Pollstar.
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