Here’s the real reason why Chance the Rapper cancelled his 2020 tour

Allison Stewart

In an Instagram post, the Chance the Rapper announced the cancellation of his 2020 “Big Tour” only three months after postponing most of its dates, bookending a rough professional period for the artist.

The rapper blamed the cancellation on a desire to be with his family. "Hey guys I've decided to cancel the Big Tour," he wrote. "I know it sucks and it’s been a lot of back and forth with reschedules and rerouting, but it's for the best. I'm gonna take this time to be with family, make some new music and develop my best show to date."

It was an on-brand excuse: Chance married his longtime girlfriend Kirsten Corley, who recently gave birth to their second child, in a ceremony earlier this year, and his latest album, The Big Day, was a mostly fuzzy ode to domesticity. The rapper even joked about the cancelled tour when he subbed for James Corden on The Late Late Show.

But in the music industry, it's an article of faith that tours are almost never cancelled for any reason other than low ticket sales. "One of two things is happening," says George Howard, a professor of Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music and a former record label president.

"Either he genuinely needs to spend time with the family, and anybody who is a parent knows that's a very real thing, or ticket sales (aren't great). When ticket sales are going great, you find a way to take the family on the road, and when they're not, family can be a convenient excuse."

Though precise information on ticket sales is hard to come by (and Chance's manager, booking agent and representatives from a half-dozen affected venues did not respond to requests for comment), there were early indications that things were not going well. Citing family issues, Chance announced the initial postponement of the Big Tour five days before its mid-September kickoff, though he did play one of two scheduled United Center dates on Sep.28. A second, originally set for the next night, was never rebooked.

In the music industry, it's an article of faith that tours are only cancelled due to low ticket sales. TNS.

After the initial postponement, new opening acts (Lil Yachty and Chance's brother Taylor Bennett) were announced, often a sign that sales need goosing, and 2-for-1 tickets were even offered in November during an unusual Cyber Monday promotion. "If he had to cancel the tour, it's likely because the concert promoters were facing a serious loss," says Billboard's Senior Director for Touring and Live, Dave Brooks, who stresses that no one but those closest to the rapper knows the real reason for the tour's cancellation.

"He tried to buy himself some time (with the postponement). When a tour is at an inflection point where the sales are not good, they can either push through and try to break even, or it's so bad they cancel."

The tour had focused mostly on arenas, an idea that didn't initially seem unreasonable. When Chance toured arenas in 2017 in support of his Grammy-winning mixtape Coloring Book, many dates sold out. But arena tours generally favour legacy artists with extensive back catalogues from which they can draw onstage, or newer acts with current smashes.

Chance considers The Big Day his first official album, and though it debuted on the Billboard chart at No.2, it has not proved enduringly popular. Fans and critics who usually praised Chance's mild Every Guyness and his almost unrelenting positivity, now saw him as musically unadventurous and treacly.

Online reaction to the tour's cancellation has been mixed, with many fans praising Chance's emphasis on family. Others weren't so understanding. "You just lost a fan," wrote @toocoolclin_. "I hope you happy cause I'm crying and this ain't fair ... "

Chance is still scheduled to perform at the Something in the Water festival in Virginia in April. "I promise to come back much stronger and better in 2020 and hope to see some of you guys there," he wrote on Instagram.

"I don't think it's the end for him," says Brooks. The short term costs of the tour's cancellation might be at least partly borne by the promoter, depending upon how Chance's deal was structured, but the bad feelings engendered by the repeated cancellations and postponements might pose a longer term danger to his brand.

"If I were representing him, I would quickly move to start playing some free shows in areas where he has a whole lot of support," says Howard. "He needs to go out and remind people what made him special." A small venue tour, oversold, might help restore some of Chance's lustre.

"He needs to be careful, because you can just disappear these days."

Tribune News Service