Earlier this week, the Backstreet Boys released the news that the Australia/New Zealand leg of the DNA World Tour had been postponed yet again .. until March and April of 2022.
I know. Not only is COVID ruining our economy, killing innocent people, and more, it’s also taking away our Backstreet Boys and entertainment in general.
But you know, this wasn’t a surprise. Taylor Swift had already cancelled her rescheduled LoverFest stadium shows. Harry Styles, I believe, had already pushed his shows back more, as did another artist that is at the tip of my tongue.
And let’s be honest – it’s not looking good for the U.S. and Canada this summer, either. (No, I know NO news, but let’s be real.)
Some want it to be canceled. Some want it cancelled and Vegas scheduled instead. Some just want it postponed and keep their seats.
I have damn good seats for this tour and I’d like to keep them, if I have to wait another year, so be it. I have plans with friends that I’d like to keep. Knowing I have those seats with my friends and that I’m going to be seeing the boys and other people I haven’t seen now in a year and a half, is what keeps me going.
So what do we do? It’s not up to us and our opinions honestly don’t really matter because so much goes on when scheduling and booking tour dates, not to mention the people who are out of work right now because the entertainment life has been put on hold for a year now. You know, unless you book small shows in small venues and pretend you’re practicing the CDC guidelines.
Last year a memo circulated around talent agencies from Live Nation, describing the new process facing the live entertainment business in 2021. You can click here to read the full memo, but this is from an article from Variety.com.
The main points of the memo note that the company plans to decrease guarantees to artists by 20%; to give artists 25% of the guarantee — rather than the current standard of 100% — if a concert is canceled due to poor ticket sales; and perhaps most significantly, if an artist cancels a performance in breach of the contract, it will pay the promoter double the artist fee. The memo also states several other points, many of which were already existing conditions, including that ticket prices are set at the promoter’s sole discretion; that artists must agree to having their performances recorded for future television, radio or streaming purposes; and that if an artist’s performance is canceled “due to an event of force majeure – including a pandemic similar to Covid-19” the promoter will not pay the artist its fee, and the artist is responsible for obtaining cancellation insurance. In another move reflecting the pandemic and plans for reduced-capacity concerts, the memo states that if the promoter is not allowed to use the full capacity of the venue — “either because of orders of the venue or any governmental entity” — then the promoter can terminate the agreement and artist is responsible for any money previously paid.
Cancelling a tour this far into the game is costly. There’s a lot of things about the music business that we don’t know. Some may know more than others because of research or working in it, but it’s not easy to just up and cancel a concert. It’s not easy to postpone, either.
So now what?
Now we sit and wait more. Wait for an announcement. Wait for the shows. Wait for this pandemic to be over. Some of our lives will never be the same, whether it’s losing family members, extreme anxiety from this pandemic, jobs are now fully “from home” (which is my predicament), or other reasons.
We are bored when it comes to the fandom.
We were spoiled (for a pandemic) last fall with AJ on “Dancing With The Stars, Nick on “The Masked Singer,” and PopKidNick on Twitch. But it’s been quiet, except for Nick’s random livestreams, Kevin and Nick’s football Instalive, and AJ’s podcast and random love of TikTok.
So here are a few things to keep everyone occupied.
- Read books about the music business or artist biographies to learn about how the industry works.
- If you see drama online, just close out of Twitter/Facebook/Instagram and go watch one of the boys’ last shows before the pandemic that is on YouTube.
- Feeling creative? Start a blog, or sign up to guest write or write for us or another blog if they are allowing others to do so.
- YouTube. YouTube is everything.
- Go back and watch your old tour videos on your phone or computer. It helps for me.
I’m not doctor or have a degree in fangirling, but these are things that have helped me this past year besides the things the boys have done.
Everything is really out of our hands and as much as it sucks, we can all just hope for the best.