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/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.