Coronavirus and cancellations: Navigating complaints in a crisis

The music industry has not been immune to the impact of the coronavirus with the cancellation of a string of gigs.

The Who have postponed a UK tour, while other big acts like Madonna, Stormzy and BTS have also cancelled concerts.

Even across the pond Californian festival Coachella has been postponed and South by South West festival (SXSW) was cancelled for the first time in 34 years.

Now hundreds of bands, most from the independent scenes of their respective countries, have been left hanging – Pigsx7 had to cancel additional gigs in New York and Los Angeles following the cancellation of SXSW.

There are also concerns over what other festivals could be affected. However, last week Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis said she was pressing ahead with the 50th anniversary festival.

American musician Laura Jane Grace tweeted that some bands were cancelling because their insurers were altering contracts to not cover damage done by the virus. This was confirmed by Neil Anderson, the tour manager of Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro (see tweet below).

Not only could this be incredibly damaging to the industry it could also cause a backlog of dates with many shows being pushed back, resulting in massive expenses for artists and already struggling independent venues.

The underground music scene is being dealt a a hefty blow yet again following the Brexit complications which made international touring into UK an ever harder process.

Some of the most innovative venues in Manchester, including the Academy, Yes and even Satan’s Hollow, have had difficulties with bookings. Although there have been underlying restrictions and cancellations of various events, both big and small, it is important to remember that safety measures are the utmost priority. Many of the events announced as cancelled are set to be rescheduled and ticketholders should keep updated using official ticket outlets.