The Chemical Brothers express worries about the cost of touring in the US in a recent interview with Billboard. They explained that touring the US is not currently affordable due to the rise of costs, and have stopped scheduling North American dates despite releasing their new album, “For That Beautiful Feeling.” “The costs have gone up so much. It’s just not really viable at the moment,” said The Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons. He added that he is apologetic to fans for the difficulty they are facing in getting to America.
The duo spoke about the post-pandemic touring industry and their plans to reduce their live production expenses with the aim of making touring the US more affordable. According to Simons, this sparked a debate over a Zoom call. He explained that the production initially stemmed from the duo’s desire to avoid subjecting audiences to only themselves awkwardly standing with synthesizers during their shows. “So we wanted a big back job, but it’s just grown and grown, and now we’ve got these 40-foot clowns voicing the words,” Simons said.
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) warned in September 2022 that touring artists could be priced out when performing abroad as a result of inflation, COVID-19, and Brexit, which created a “perfect storm.” Additionally, the US government announced plans in January to increase the cost of touring visas by 250%, which was halted earlier in July due to the negative impact it would have on touring in the US.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Assistant Editor, and you can follow her on Twitter
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