Lily Allen has confirmed that low ticket sales were behind the decision to downsize several North American dates on her West End Girl tour, with arena shows moved to smaller theatres and one Montreal concert cancelled.
The 41-year-old singer addressed the changes in an interview with The Cut, explaining that the decision was driven by ticket-sale data rather than an artist simply choosing which venues to play.
Lily Allen addresses low ticket sales
Allen said the demand for some of the original arena dates was not strong enough to justify keeping them at their planned size.
“The ticket sales weren’t there. I think people sometimes have a misconception about artist greed.
“And, you know, maybe there are artists who are greedy, but let me tell you a little bit about the mechanics of how these things work:
“I don’t call up MSG and all of these other venues and say, ‘I’d like to book these dates, please. Thank you very much. I think I can fill these arenas.’”
Allen explained that venue promoters use their own sales data when deciding whether an artist can support a particular venue size.
“company’s own promoters have data machines that tell them whether they’re going to be able to sell these tickets”
According to Allen, artists are then offered a certain amount based on the promoter’s assessment of expected demand.
Why the West End Girl Tour dates changed
Allen said she had concerns about the size of some venues from the beginning, but was reassured by her management that the promoters believed the shows could sell out.
“I felt a little bit uneasy about it from the start. I said to my manager, ‘Are you sure? This seems like a stretch.’
“And he was like, ‘This is what they’re telling me.’ So we accepted it. And as time went on, it just looked like it wasn’t gonna happen.”
In July, Allen announced that several North American arena shows would be moved to theatres, while her Montreal date was cancelled.
The decision allowed the tour to continue in venues that Allen said were better suited to the level of demand.
“Our other option was to ask the promoters if there were any other available venues that were more suited to the demand.”
Allen said cancelling the entire run was also considered, but she did not want to leave the touring team without work.
“all of the shows”
She explained that around 50 crew members had expected to work throughout October.
“a crew of about 50 people who all thought they’d be working through October”
Lily Allen questions how ticket sales work
Allen also admitted that she remains confused by some of the practices surrounding ticket availability and pricing.
“I’ve gotten messages from people on the day of a ‘sold out’ gig saying, ‘I got a ticket for $22 today.’”
She suggested that tickets can appear to become available shortly before a concert, despite artists being told that tickets had sold out much earlier.
“So obviously a bunch of tickets are released last minute, but on our end, we’re told those tickets were sold out the day they went on sale.
“I don’t know what the f*** is going on. Someone knows, but it ain’t the artist.”
Allen described the live music business as a “minefield” and said she still does not fully understand how all of the different parts of the ticketing and venue process work.
New venues and ticket refunds
The original Madison Square Garden show in New York City went ahead on 3 September as planned, despite the changes to other North American dates.
Fans affected by the venue changes were offered full refunds for their original tickets and were also given the opportunity to access a presale for tickets at the replacement venues.
