How to, and How Not to, Cancel a Show

A rather odd week for Chicago concert goers, indeed. I’ve been banging on about the Ultraista gig (and Ultraista in general, as it were) for ages, and sadly, the band had to cancel almost all of their U.S. tour dates very unexpectedly. While most of the time when such things happen it’s down to illness or tragedy of some kind, this was because drummer Joey Waronker’s wee one decided to make his/her entry into the world much earlier than was expected. Obviously, babies and family must come first so Mr. Waronker rushed home to be with his wife and new baby. The first show to get cancelled was Philadelphia, which did see a DJ set by Nigel Godrich and Laura Bettinson for fans interested in partaking in such a thing. Fans were also given the option to a refund on the price of their ticket if they were more interested in a full band performance. After that, cancellations of the Chicago, Toronto, and Brooklyn dates followed suit. The only remaining U.S. events are The Jimmy Fallon appearance on 29 January, as well as the Hollywood Forever show in Los Angeles on 31 January.
Having said all of that, I’d like to point something out. When Chicago was cancelled, I was immediately sent an email stating that the price of my ticket would be refunded to my credit card within 2 days time with apologies for the cancellation and the inconvenience.
Elsewhere, the band collectively, as well as Nigel Godrich individually, were on Twitter apologising and explaining what had happened.

On Friday, Morrissey fans in Michigan were disappointed by the singer yet again. Just a few hours before the show was to start, it was announced that the show was cancelled due to ‘band illness.’ Do keep in mind, this show was already a rescheduled performance and last night’s cancellation announcement made no mention of being rescheduled, yet again. From there, the Minneapolis show scheduled for tonight (25 January) as well as Chicago on 26 January have been ‘postponed.’ Personally, I wrote him off years ago. I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that his tantrums, rude behaviour, and constant disrespect for fans can be put down to eccentricity and him just being Morrissey. My best friend, however, has grown increasingly enamored with him over the years. I don’t tend to have to buy many concert tickets given my job, but to guarantee there would be no miscommunication with guest lists or what have you, I bought Morrissey tickets for her for Christmas. Funnily, I still have not gotten an email about the show being postponed. There has been no word from Morrissey or his management (though that isn’t in any way surprising), and, what’s even more aggravating to me than any of that, is the following; In going to the venue’s web site in an attempt to confirm that Saturday’s show is in fact cancelled, (which, in all honesty, I figured from the moment I purchased the tickets) I found this;

Please be advised that due to band member illness, the Morrissey concert performance scheduled to take place at The Chicago Theatre on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 8:00 pm has been postponed. The new date will be announced soon.
Please hold on to your original tickets, as tickets ordered for January 26, 2013 as well as for the October 27, 2012 performance will be honored for the new date. Your original tickets will not need to be exchanged.
Morrissey would like to thank everyone for their understanding and patience and wishes his band a speedy recovery.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to your continued patronage of The Chicago Theatre.
Sincerely,
Madison Square Garden Entertainment

Again, the majority of the people with tickets for this show have now been cancelled on twice. There is no offer for them to get a refund. People are told “This is how it is, I’m keeping your money, you’ll come when I decide to come back.” Given the nature of Morrissey’s fan culture and how many of his fans travel from such great distances to see him, it’s beyond me how it wouldn’t be an automatic response to offer refunds; especially when it’s the second cancellation. Perhaps people can’t reschedule again. Perhaps at this point, they just won’t want to.

It’s a strange thing really; I’m far more upset about the Ultraista cancellation. I’ve been so excited about that gig since the second I knew about it. That said, I’m more outraged about the Morrissey cancellation. There is a right way to handle a situation and a very, very wrong way to handle something. First and foremost, this is down to the personalities you’re dealing with. Morrissey is arrogant and megalomaniacal, and spends more time than not acting like a spoiled toddler. Meanwhile, the members of Ultraista, have shown that they appreciate their fans and can act like consummate professionals. It also has a lot to do with management. While I can’t begin to imagine the nightmare that is managing Morrissey (a frequently revolving door, as I understand it), I did have the pleasure of exchanging emails with Ultraista’s manager, Carol Crabtree some years ago. A big part of managing artists is understanding how your professional response to situations effects the public’s perception of the artists whom you manage.

Obviously things will come up that may require shows to be rescheduled, postponed, and on occasion, cancelled. The most important thing is how artists and their management handle those situations. You can handle it with grace, humour, and professionalism maintaining interaction with fans and media outlets when possible and appropriate. Or you can be Morrissey. You can shut everyone out, refuse to have a web site and ignore the avenues available with which to offer your fans explanations.
That isn’t to say fans are entitled to specific details of personal situations, but when people have spent money on your show, which allows you to maintain your career, they are entitled to know when you won’t be showing up. In the event you aren’t showing up, they are entitled to get their money back; that isn’t unreasonable.

A funny thing happens when artists keep their fans happy and feeling appreciated; they’re more likely to give them money. They want to give them money and support them.

Edit~ I’ve just (1:40 pm CST) received an email from Ticketmaster regarding the Morrissey event being postponed. There is a note in the email stating those who wish their tickets to be refunded can reply to the email to initiate the refund process and those who wish to keep their tickets for the rescheduled date needn’t do anything.
I still maintain that it was handled poorly but am glad that the option is given to those who may not be able to make it to a rescheduled date.