Why is touring becoming economically unviable for more artists?

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Animal Collective's announcement that they are cancelling their European tour, which was due to take place next month, explaining that – while preparing for the shows – they realised they were looking at “an economic reality that simply does not work and is not sustainable”, plus Mike Batt’s revelation that he’s destroyed his original multitrack tapes for the music he made as The Wombles to stop anyone remastering his work. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • Animal Collective cancel European shows after concluding that international touring in 2022 isn’t economically viable • Mike Batt destroyed the Wombles master tapes so that they can’t be remixed after he dies ALSO MENTIONED • Coachella sues Afrochella for trademark infringement • Santigold cancels US tour: “I will not continue to sacrifice myself for an industry that has become unsustainable” • Deezer releases AI tool to split tracks into individual parts (November 2019) MORE FROM CMU • Upcoming CMU webinars • Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon • Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin • Listen to the full Setlist theme tune