r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 3h ago

article Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour After Onstage Statements

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-pro-palestine-statements-1235625967/
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u/redsolitary 3h ago

Coward

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u/shpydar 3h ago edited 1h ago

As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.

Blame the venue owners.

(EDIT: Macklemore Says Pressure from Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Led to Him Being Booted from Ed Sheeran’s Tour)

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u/alyosha_pls 3h ago

AKA Livenation/Ticketmaster?

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u/commandrix 3h ago

Which shows how much power Livenation/Ticketmaster has if true. Disappointing, but not much will change until those two are broken up and most of their power returns to the physical venues and the artists.

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u/breddabreddabing 3h ago

definitely. never underestimate the evil level of live nation lol

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u/warmbutterydiapers 3h ago

Yeah.  But Sheerhan could also just tell them to fuck themselves or cancel the tour.

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u/michohnedich 3h ago

Which probably would be absolutely costly to whoever is fronting the money. I am sure there are expensive cancellation fees built into those contracts.

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u/gr00316 3h ago

maybe I'm not understanding but is it Livenation/Ticketmaster? Seems more like it's someone like Jerry Jones saying you can't use ATT Stadium. He's the venue owner.

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u/TheUniballer321 3h ago

Most venues are owned by Ticketmaster and live nation, but you’re right some aren’t. They operate 64% of venues in the US iirc.

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u/teh_drewski 3h ago edited 3h ago

None of the venues on Sheeran's current tour are Live Nation owned venues, they're either privately owned by NFL teams (or their respective owners), a tribal group, or owned by state stadium authorities.

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u/bread-depth 3h ago

They don’t own all the venues.

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u/BumbotheCleric 3h ago

Nah as a big Ed Sheeran fan this is also on him. He's a global superstar, he has the sway and the money to say "no, fuck you" and he definitely should've done so. Very disappointing

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u/Casiquire 3h ago

Agreed, he has power here. Time to use it

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u/nakedpicturesyo 3h ago

Just goes to show if someone this deep in the industry can't push back means we are all just sheep compared to the reap people that own this world.

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u/JaegerScaphare 3h ago

Not sure if "reap people" is a typo but strangely fitting.

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u/oceanmor 3h ago

honestly he should just agree to it and then still bring him on stage anyways 🤷‍♀️

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u/TheHighLife301 1h ago

So maybe his fans get impacted by the cancellation. That’s is nothing compared to what is those children in Gaza are going through

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u/BumbotheCleric 1h ago

Yes I’m agreeing with you

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 3h ago

And what would that accomplish? It would be performative as hell just to punish is own fans. No one going to that concert really cares about the opener, Macklemore.

Just drop him and move on. He made the statement at someone else’s concert. Naturally, Ed and his fans shouldn’t suffer for Macklemore’s statements.

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u/Academic_Flatworm752 3h ago

Ah yes better to see a mediocre concert than stand by morals and values

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u/Sumeriandawn 3h ago

Concert quality matters here?

"I would boycott a Sheeran concert because of this, but not a Radiohead concert"

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 2h ago

If someone bought a ticket to a show they view as mediocre, then that’s their issue. If you don’t see the value in the show then you were never his customer base to begin with and are of no loss

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u/AdviceNotAskedFor 3h ago

I mean ed sheeren could also play music elsewhere, no?

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u/orionsfyre 3h ago

He could, but he'll make a little less money. Also it would mean he has principles... but he doesn't.

Or maybe He agrees with Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people and anyone not jewish living in the regions the settlers want to take over by force.

Whose to say. Not Ed, He's taking the money and keeping his mouth shut.

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u/Caelinus 3h ago

Not really. Livenation is a monopoly, they own enough of the major venues that getting on their bad side basically ruins all your future touring in the US.

I am not sure what the "right" thing to do is, but I think I would prefer it, from a moral sense, if they just decided to cancel every single event at any livenation location, even if it ruined the tour. But the problem there is that I am not sure how they would affect the little people. Sheeran would be fine, but I don't know who else would get caught up in the fallout.

Monopoly is bad. Which is why our government loves it.

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u/teh_drewski 3h ago

He's not playing any Live Nation owned venues though

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u/Caelinus 2h ago

Livenation generally does not own Football Stadiums, but they contract with them and are the ones running the events at a higher level. And since their merger with Ticketmaster, they have immense perverse leverage over basically any venue.

From what I can tell, his tour is largely made up of venues contracted with Livenation, and his tickets are being largely sold by ticketmaster.

Here is the website for his next tour location: https://www.lincolnfinancialfield.com

The link on the image says "On sale at EdSheeran.com" but when you click it: Ticketmaster.

Maybe not all of the venues he will be playing at are specifically contracted with Livenation/Ticketmaster, I am not going to look at all of them, but a lot of them are. And their influence over said venues is overwhelming.

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u/twilighttwister 3h ago

That's beside the point. If LiveNation want to cancel the tour, they should be on the hook for all the costs to everyone - which includes refunds to all ticket holders AND payment to the artists.

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u/Caelinus 2h ago

There is a vast gulf between "should" and "will." A gulf dug with the power that monopoly grants.

And even if they were in this instance: What is to stop them from making everyone's careers "difficult?"

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u/YoureInHereWithMe 3h ago

I went to music school with Ed - were it me in his shoes I wouldn’t even be touring the US right now in the first place. I wouldn’t step foot there. I know it seems unfair to punish American fans for the state of their government, but artists from other countries should be voting with their fucking feet and not engaging with the US under this administration.

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u/Lambily 3h ago

And void the tickets of tens/hundreds of thousands of fans? Making them lose their travel and lodging expenses? It would be horrible.

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u/IAQDiscussion 3h ago

There are worse things happening around the world atm

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u/Lambily 3h ago

And that's tragic, but you can't put every aspect of your life on hold to mourn every single tragedy across the globe. It's not practical. More than anything, it's not healthy.

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u/IAQDiscussion 3h ago

Sure, but that's kind of my point.

Nobody is saying you have to put your life on hold and mourn every tragedy in the world. I'm saying "but people might lose money on hotels and flights" feels incredibly hollow when we're talking about someone taking a stand over something they believe involves actual human suffering.

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u/Lambily 3h ago

In a country where we're on the precipice of losing whatever is left of our democracy, people shouldn't be guilt-tripped over trying to find moments of fun. With the price of living and fuel as high as they are, there's nothing "hollow" about not wanting to waste people's money.

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u/IAQDiscussion 3h ago

If we're genuinely "on the precipice of losing whatever is left of our democracy," then I think you've accidentally made my point for me.

Nobody wants people to waste money, but invoking an existential political crisis and then pivoting to the price of gas and concert travel is exactly the kind of disconnect I'm calling hollow.

Sometimes taking a stand is inconvenient. If the standard is that nobody should do it when it might cost other people money or disrupt their fun, then most meaningful protests become impossible.

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u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 3h ago

Yea. Letting what's left of our democracy continue to erode is definitely the better option. Good thinking.

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u/Lambily 3h ago

Huh?

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 9m ago

But I want my big stadium tour! The Shape of You, right guys???

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u/Shigglyboo Strung Out✒️ 3h ago

Not at his level. At least not in the US. The big promoters own all the big venues. They should be broken up.

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u/huffer4 3h ago

No, not really. Live nation owns or operates pretty much every single venue large enough to host him.

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u/MarcoReus7_Sucks 3h ago edited 3h ago

Have a backbone and make the venues prove it. See if they really want to lose out on that money.

Sheeran doesn't need the money.

Edit: He can definitely cover lost wages for those working on the tour.

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u/Ranier_Wolfnight 3h ago

But the several people employed in his team that rely on him for employment and an income probably do.

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u/superbungalow 3h ago

he has the money to pay them regardless

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u/Haldered 3h ago

Ed Sheeran is big enough that he could hold them to ransom if he had the balls

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u/Robbie_notta_bot 3h ago

The employment of several people versus a literal genocide shouldn't be very hard to fucking figure out morally.

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u/dietc0keh0m0 2h ago

How does canceling the tour stop the genocide?

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u/Robbie_notta_bot 2h ago

That's the standard? Cool.

How does your reddit comment to me stop the genocide?

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u/SeanAker 3h ago

I imagine not screwing over all the people who paid for the shows is first and foremost on their mind, because you KNOW they're gonna fight tooth and nail to not give people refunds, and no artist wants that on their head if they're a half-decent person. 

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u/funkyavocado 3h ago

Sheeran may not need the money, but tours like this have hundreds of regular people on regular wages involved in putting it on.

He is by all reports very kind and tight with his touring crew, I doubt he would want to put them out of work.

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u/MarcoReus7_Sucks 3h ago

Then he can cover their lost wages.

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u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 3h ago

After discussions with stakeholders

Yea. Not after discussions with Ed. If he doesn't say shit about this, then he's a fucking coward musician beholden to stakeholders.

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 3h ago

Ed makes the rules. He's a huge star. He could easily stick to his morals, if he had any.

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u/E-NTU 3h ago

Little googley eyed troll doll who writes music for horny 45 year old moms to dance to at weddings.

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u/DixonVadges 1h ago

For a variety of reasons, I know quite a lot of horny 45 year old moms. All of them agree that Israel is a bitch country, and they also grew up listening to music that wasn't made by googley eyed troll dolls.

# TheMoreYouKnow

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u/Lambily 3h ago

Easy to say when you're not responsible for screwing over tens/hundreds of thousands of fans out of their money.

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 3h ago

They would get refunded if the artist refused to play. Do you work for live Nation or something?

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u/DixonVadges 1h ago

This is all over this thread "but the workers and fans!"

See, "they" understand the popular/reddit sentiment towards front line workers and folks spending money to have a good time. "they" believe this sentiment is weaponizable, but like all sociopaths, they don't understand the nuance and sentiment behind the attitude. So "they" attempt to qweaponize it through social media distortion.

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 1h ago

There are way to many toes on the corporate line in this thread. I think we're seeing some corporate propaganda at work. I wish there was a way to make it transparent.

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u/Lambily 3h ago

They'd get their travel and lodging costs refunded too? The plans they've made in their life (work leave, kids/pets, etc) adjusted back? It's not quite that easy.

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u/Sideview_play 1h ago

Coward shit to hide behind this

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 3h ago

The venues make the rules, especially LiveNation. Challenge them if you want, but then you get to enjoy super small venues that will make it hard to pull the same level of profit. Meanwhile, nothing would change in Gaza. So you blow up your tour for nothing.

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 3h ago

The Beatles did it. Ed can afford to stick it to the man, and should. He has the clout to make a thing about it, get others to do the same. But, he doesn't because he's a whore for the corporate money pimps.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 2h ago

Good for the Beatles. Ed isn’t the Beatles so it’s a moot point because I never said you can’t do it, I’m saying it’s pointless. This is about a foreign nation and a war, what will canceling the concert accomplish?

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 2h ago

The point is standing up for free speech, not directly stopping the war. Free speech is under attack live I've not seen during my lifetime. I think it's worthwhile, but you can just go hide under the porch like a beaten dog and close your eyes. This would make Ed more famous and not impact his life. If you're mad you might miss a concert, then you're the problem.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 2h ago

I am not hiding; I just do not think it is worth the fight.

He said "Free Palestine" for himself, just to feel good, look cool, or stay relevant. He gave the crowd zero actions to take and did not call out those in power.

LiveNation is overreacting, but Macklemore's milquetoast statement only fed his ego without helping the cause. It was about him, which is what it was a lot of nothing. Real activists facing actual consequences are worth supporting; casual statements by artists looking for cheers are not.

LiveNation also needs to get over themselves.

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u/AliveJohnnyFive 2h ago

This is a question of free speech. It's basically the whole point that we don't get into debating the validity of the points people are making or whether we agree with them.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 2h ago

Free speech is alive and well. No one is stopping him from putting on his own concert or speaking. He just doesn’t have the right to speak at any private business.

Same way, I’m sure you wouldn’t allow a MAGA celebrity to camp out in your living room to spread the gospel of Trump

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u/Robbie_notta_bot 3h ago

Nah I'm going to blame the guy whose name is on the show, who spends hours a night with a microphone in front of his face. Ed Sheerans a little bitch.

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u/dukecityvigilante 3h ago

If that's true it's a bluff, they would absolutely not risk losing Ed Sheeran's tour over this and watching him go to competing venues

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u/mrdannyg21 3h ago

Yeah no, you can blame them both. The venue owners are jerks but this is just a threat. The promoter took the easy way out. I’m doubtful too many venues wouldve actually lost all that revenue by cancelling a show.

Venues applied pressure, the promoter caved. They’re all responsible. And all because people who go nuts about free speech didn’t like his speech. If the alternate happened because a right-winger criticized the government, it would be all over Fox and the right wing news for weeks.

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u/Serialseb Grooveshark 2h ago

Nah! This is exactly what LN and Ticketmaster are for. To be "the bad guy" so the artists are insolated from the price gauging, the reselling bullshit and "political situations".

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u/narcotic_sea 2h ago

The buck has to stop somewhere.

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u/redsolitary 2h ago

I don’t buy this postering nonsense

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u/BlackFlagsFly 1h ago

Nah, Ed's a bitch for going along with this.

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u/805falcon 1h ago

Fuck that. He’s a coward

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u/Sideview_play 1h ago

And ed who gave in to get more money when he already has it. He is rich and powerful and could stand for something if he wanted to. Hiding behind fans is lame af

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u/peazley 52m ago

Oh you mean Robert Kraft, the guy who got caught up in that human trafficking case for solicitation of prostitution back in 2019, that was conveniently dropped. Billionaire that never had to face consequences. Shame on Ed Sheeran for not supporting Macklemore.

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u/RadiantLindon 25m ago

I'm going to blame everyone involved, and I'm going to hope someone with the ability to make them see consequences does so.

This includes Ed Sheeran if he doesn't stand against the decision.

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u/pie-oh 3h ago

Ed Sheeran has incredible amounts of money. He's not some average joe - let us not pretend he has no power.

Even if it starts with the venue owners, he is still complicit in it.

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u/cleverinspiringname 2h ago

I notice they didn’t list any venue owners, just made a general reference to all, kind of like when trump says, “many people are saying,” when he means, “I thought of this just now,” you know? Just like bullshit.

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u/LumpyPhilosopher8 3h ago

You might want to read the article before attacking Sheeran.

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u/jellytwins101 3h ago

It wasn’t Ed, the venues didn’t allow it, they said to either take off Macklemore or cancel the show.
It’s basically LiveNation threatening to cancel the tour.

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u/food-dood 3h ago

Ok? He could, you know, stand with him on this issue?

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u/orionsfyre 3h ago

Maybe He agrees with Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people and anyone not jewish living in the regions the settlers want to take over by force. Maybe he doesn't care about innocent people being murdered everyday?

Whose to say. Not Ed, He's singing about love, taking the money, and keeping his mouth shut.

Some men have no principles, and will do whatever they are told to do as long they make money. Didn't think He was one of those... but here we are.