When Taylor Swift is making $2bn in ticket sales, and Coldplay can sell out 10 nights at Wembley Stadium, it’s easy to conjure an image of touring musicians swimming in sweet piles of cash, like guitar-wielding Scrooge McDucks. But for many artists, touring is becoming less and less viable. The cost of putting a show on the road - from van hire and petrol, to crew fees and accommodation - has skyrocketed since 2019.
Little Simz and Rachel Chinouriri are among the artists who’ve cancelled US tours this year because the finances didn’t add up. In the middle of our interview about her new album, Everybody Needs A Hero, Dublin indie artist Orla Gartland explains how dire the situation has become. In exactly one month, she’s setting off for her first ever North American tour, playing 13 dates in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Every night is sold out. Several venues have been upgraded due to high demand. But she says, “the amount of money I’m going to lose on that tour is really eye-watering”.
How much, exactly? “About 40 grand,” she winces. “I even had to pay to expedite the band’s visas the other day..
. It’s pretty scary but it’s fine. Everything will go ahead.
” Gartland is determined to make it work, because a US tour has been at the top of her bucket-list since she was a 13-year-old posting music to YouTube under the name “MusicMaaad”. "I've never gigged there properly, so putting this tour on sale was a rea.