{"id":607608,"date":"2026-04-16T08:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607608\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:36:17","slug":"what-is-the-future-of-kanye-wests-touring-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607608\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is The Future Of Kanye West’s Touring Career?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEarlier this month,\u00a0Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West<\/a>)\u00a0played\u00a0two dates at Los Angeles\u2019 SoFi Stadium\u00a0on April 1 and 3\u00a0that grossed\u00a0an eye-opening\u00a0$32.6 million\u00a0across\u00a0149,000 tickets sold, according to Billboard\u00a0Boxscore. In the aftermath, the rapper, who had been in\u00a0somewhat of an\u00a0industry exile for years\u00a0over\u00a0his history of antisemitic statements,\u00a0seemed on the verge of a live comeback\u00a0\u2014 with Wireless Fest announcing on March 31 the rapper would headline all three nights of the event\u2019s three-days. <\/p>\n

\n\tThen the blowback began.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kanye<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tJust days after Ye played the final of the two SoFi dates\u00a0\u2014 his first\u00a0U.S.\u00a0shows since the Free Larry Hoover benefit<\/a> concert with Drake<\/a> on Dec. 9, 2021 \u2014\u00a0sponsors of June\u2019s Wireless Festival in the U.K., where he was scheduled to headline all three nights, began pulling out<\/a> following widespread public backlash to the booking. Following this, the British government announced\u00a0it\u00a0had denied the rapper a visa\u00a0to enter the country,\u00a0and\u00a0the festival\u00a0decided to cancel\u00a0\u2014\u00a0leaving fans and the industry\u00a0wondering what it all meant for the future of the once-untouchable star\u2019s touring career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBillboard\u00a0reached out to several industry professionals to get their perspective on Ye\u2019s touring prospects\u00a0moving forward.\u00a0While the vast majority either\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0respond or declined to comment\u00a0on the record,\u00a0those who\u00a0spoke with\u00a0Billboard\u00a0prior to the Wireless Festival fallout said\u00a0the SoFi dates\u2019 $32.6\u00a0million gross\u00a0meant a\u00a0larger tour could absolutely be on the table.\u00a0Following the\u00a0Wireless\u00a0cancellation,\u00a0some began to reconsider that stance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s still raw to a lot of people,\u201d\u00a0Jarred Arfa, executive\u00a0vp\u00a0and head of global music at Independent Artist Group (IAG), told\u00a0Billboard\u00a0after\u00a0Wireless Festival canceled\u00a0\u2014\u00a0arguing that while fan demand is clearly there, the entities needed to get a full-scale tour off the ground may need more time.\u00a0\u201cIf he had tried to do this next year in London, and it had been two years with no incident, I think people are more forgiving over time.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kanye<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think it might be a little too quick for him,\u201d\u00a0Arfa\u00a0continues. \u201cWhat did he have, \u2018Heil Hitler\u2019 out a year ago? You need a little time for people to forget that. Not the fans \u2014 the fans are there. But the authorities, the venues, the business side of it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThough\u00a0Ye\u00a0played several\u00a0concerts\u00a0in other countries\u00a0starting last\u00a0summer\u00a0\u2014\u00a0including\u00a0shows in Shanghai, Seoul and Mexico City\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the\u00a0beginning of\u00a0his\u00a0attempt at a\u00a0full-fledged U.S.\u00a0comeback came in January<\/a>, when he took out a full-page advertisement in\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0to apologize for his past actions. He attributed his behavior to a 2002 car accident and revealed\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0been diagnosed with bipolar type-1 disorder. The letter came ahead of his most recent album,\u00a0Bully, which arrived on March 28 and hit No. 2<\/a> on the Billboard 200<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOn March 9, Ye announced the first of his two SoFi Stadium shows, which\u00a0were presented by Rod Wave<\/a>\u2019s Live Nation-backed promotion company, Mainstay Touring.\u00a0Also involved in the production was\u00a0Christian Rainwater\u00a0of Creatable Inflatables,\u00a0which helped build the stage design<\/a> for his SoFi shows, including\u00a0the\u00a0large inflatable globe\u00a0on which\u00a0Ye walked during the concert.\u00a0(When\u00a0reached\u00a0for comment,\u00a0SoFi Stadium\u00a0directed\u00a0Billboard\u00a0to contact\u00a0Live Nation, which\u00a0did not respond to\u00a0a\u00a0request\u00a0for\u00a0comment.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Rainwater\u00a0admits he had several hesitations when taking on the project\u00a0\u2014 including\u00a0Ye\u2019s\u00a0reputation for\u00a0perfection and\u00a0a fear that his company would not be able to complete the project, which would normally take several months, on time\u00a0\u2014 none were due to Ye\u2019s controversies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBecause of this [project], he definitely helped 60 of my employees [who worked on it],\u00a0if\u00a0that makes any sense,\u201d Rainwater says. \u201cI\u2019ve\u00a0got to look out for my people, and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0what we did. It\u00a0definitely helped\u00a0us a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMarcie Allen,\u00a0co-owner of\u00a0Nashville\u00a0venue\u00a0Anzie Blue,\u00a0said that while she \u201cpersonally\u2026 cannot support an artist whose creativity has allowed hate towards women and the Jewish community to enter the chat alarmingly,\u201d Ye\u2019s\u00a0huge\u00a0L.A.\u00a0concert\u00a0grosses mean that many others likely will.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEven if brands no longer sponsor his career or the events he is involved in, Kanye will still be successful\u00a0\u2014 his\u00a0revenue at SoFi Stadium proves me right,\u201d\u00a0Allen\u00a0says.\u00a0\u201cIf brands cannot resist the appeal of that achievement, they must understand that choosing to do business with hate will have consequences.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fact that\u00a0Ye\u00a0is able to\u00a0rake in such high grosses\u00a0is what drove\u00a0many sources to admit that they, too, could see more people\u00a0agreeing to\u00a0work with him. While Wireless Festival\u00a0ultimately canceled, it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0due\u00a0to\u00a0the reservation of\u00a0festival organizers,\u00a0but\u00a0to\u00a0the revocation of Ye\u2019s visa.\u00a0Even after sponsors began pulling out,\u00a0Melvin\u00a0Benn\u00a0\u2014 managing director of Wireless Festival parent Festival Republic \u2014\u00a0rushed to the\u00a0star\u2019s\u00a0defense.\u00a0\u201cForgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world and I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do,\u201d Benn wrote<\/a> in a statement\u00a0at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ye<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBenn is far from the only one\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0given Ye the benefit of the doubt, at least for now.\u00a0Though\u00a0the rapper\u2019s\u00a0Wireless\u00a0Festival\u00a0gig\u00a0is no more,\u00a0he\u00a0has several European dates\u00a0remaining\u00a0on the calendar, including shows in Istanbul (May 30);\u00a0Arnehm, Netherlands (June 6); Reggio Emilia, Italy (July 18); Madrid (July 30) and Algarve, Portugal (Aug. 7).\u00a0But just as with the London shows, the governments of the countries he\u2019s playing could have the final say;\u00a0an insider close to the French interior minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez told AFP<\/a> that the politician was looking to ban Ye<\/a> so he would not be able to take the stage at his concert scheduled for June 11 at Marseille\u2019s Stade\u00a0V\u00e9lodrome. In response, Ye postponed the date<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends,\u201d Ye\u00a0wrote on X.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI take\u00a0full responsibility for\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0mine\u00a0but I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to put my fans in the middle of it. My fans are everything to me. Looking forward to the next shows.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond that,\u00a0several sources who spoke with\u00a0Billboard\u00a0said a pop-up model\u00a0\u2014\u00a0which is\u00a0essentially the\u00a0route he took for the SoFi dates\u00a0\u2014\u00a0could still be\u00a0viable\u00a0for Ye if enough promoters and venues are willing to look past the controversy and work with him.\u00a0As Arfa puts it,\u00a0Ye\u2019s ardent fans seem unlikely to turn their\u00a0backs on him\u00a0\u2014\u00a0as long as he\u00a0continues delivering the goods in concert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWho knows what\u2019s going to happen?\u201d Arfa says. \u201cHe\u2019s\u00a0showing\u00a0up,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0playing his greatest hits. I think if he does more of that,\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0only encourage fan confidence\u2026\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0no shortage of demand. There are some who will not be able to separate the art from the artist, but I think\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0enough fans who\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0care. He\u00a0kind of has\u00a0a Trump-like effect, where people will support him no matter what he does.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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