Every reporter: Du Weiding Zhouyang Every editor: Liang Xiao
It was only 6 days before the "pause button" was pressed on the 6 concerts in Chongqing. On June 17, Eason Chan announced that he would hold a concert in Foshan in mid-July. 6 of his concerts have also been postponed. In addition, the 2 concerts in Hangzhou were canceled in May. While countless fans are heartbroken and helpless, they can't help but have a trace of worry in their hearts: When will Eason Chan be able to fulfill the 14 concerts he "owed"? concert?
Image source: Weibo@陈奕淳director
2024 is nearly halfway through, and the concert market is about to usher in a hot summer season. However, a rough calculation by a reporter from "Daily Economic News" found that as of June 21, more than 30 well-known singers, including Jacky Cheung, Eason Chan, Aaron Kwok, Guangliang, Sammi Cheng, Gigi Leung, and Rainie Yang, have canceled more than 60 performances.
The industry had placed high hopes on 2024 as a "big year for performances". However, in less than half a year, so many "top" singers have "no-showed" their concert appointments. Those who paid a lot of money to buy tickets and even arranged trips across provinces for this purpose Fans will undoubtedly suffer a greater loss. Why did the performance market encounter "Mercury Retrograde" this year? In addition to "personal health" reasons, what other factors may lead to the postponement or cancellation of the concert? How can consumers protect their rights and interests in the face of these unforeseen circumstances?
The recovery period has changed from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. Eason Chan "owed" fans 14 concerts
News of sudden postponement or cancellation of performances came from time to time, and fans' mood also hit rock bottom. "I thought I would be able to see Eason in Chongqing in three days, but now, all my expectations and efforts have been in vain." A few days ago, many fans complained about their helplessness online, and some even wanted to see Eason Chan. The concert has already arrived in Chongqing.
html On June 11, Eason Chan issued an announcement saying that Eason Chan collapsed due to heat stroke and shock while playing tennis, causing his jaw to hit the ground and was injured. "Based on the doctor's diagnosis, in order to allow the chin wound and cheekbone to fully heal, it is necessary to rest for at least three weeks. Therefore, the six concerts in Chongqing need to be postponed to 2025."It is not just Chongqing fans who are disappointed. On June 17, Eason Chan announced again that Eason Chan's six Foshan concerts in mid-July (July 12-14, 19-21, 2024) will be postponed to January 2025. The announcement stated: "After today's examination and evaluation by the medical team, it is recommended that eason (Eason Chan) receive physical therapy during the healing period of the cheekbone to allow the muscles near the cheekbone and mouth opening and closing activities to return to normal. The recovery period will take six weeks. . ”
This year, Eason Chan has already “scheduled” two concerts in Chongqing and Foshan. On May 25, due to the loss of his voice, he announced that the concert in Hangzhou that night could not be held as scheduled and would be postponed to a few days later. In response, Eason Chan bowed with tears and apologized to everyone at the Hangzhou Station, and posted on Weibo: "I really want to spend these three hours with you, but the doctor's advice is that my vocal cords must rest... Once again... , I sincerely apologize to everyone." However, just one day later, on May 26, Eason Chan changed his position and announced that the concert in Hangzhou would not be postponed but canceled and would be held at a later date.
Picture source: Screenshot of Weibo@陈奕楷 Director
Since then, Eason Chan has "owed" fans 14 concerts. The person in charge of the relevant ticketing platform told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that due to the large postponement time span of Eason Chan's concert, there are some uncertain factors. "Most of the consumers who purchased Eason Chan's (Foshan Station) concert from us All tickets have been refunded."
Compared with Foshan Station, the "return date" of Eason Chan's concerts in Chongqing Station and Hangzhou Station is currently undecided, which makes fans who purchased Ningbo Station very helpless. The "Daily Economic News" reporter noticed that Eason Chan will hold 6 concerts in Ningbo in August this year. As of June 21, the three concerts from August 9 to 11 have been sold out, and the concerts from August 16 to 18 have been sold out. Three of the games are in "reservation available" status.
When will Eason Chan's postponed concert be rescheduled? Can the performance in Ningbo be held as scheduled? In this regard, a reporter from "Daily Economic News" tried to interview the location of Eason Chan's concert, but did not receive an effective reply before the time of publication.
More than 60 concerts have been canceled, involving more than 30 singers
The concert market in 2024 has continued the excitement of 2023. "The tours of leading singers in the industry are all large-scale projects, and they usually last for two years once they start." Mou Jingxuan (pseudonym), a senior practitioner in the performance market, told the reporter of "Daily Economic News".
According to the data monitoring and calculation analysis of the ticket information collection platform of the China Performance Industry Association, from January 1 to March 31, 2024, there were 119,000 commercial performances (excluding performances in entertainment venues) nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 72.71% in 2023 ; Box office revenue was 10.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 116.87% in 2023; the number of viewers was 38.8699 million, a year-on-year increase of 77.88%. A reporter from
learned from an interview that in the first half of this year alone, many singers have postponed or canceled their concerts, including many "top performers". "Daily Economic News" reporters found based on public data statistics that as of June 21, there were more than 30 well-known singers including Eason Chan, Jacky Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Mayday, Aaron Kwok, Guangliang, Sammi Cheng, Gigi Leung, Summy Zhuang, Rainie Yang, Cyndi Wang, etc. , canceled more than 60 performances.
Picture source: Weibo @张杰
As for the reasons why singers postpone or cancel their concerts, organizers often explain "scheduling", "schedule conflicts", "sudden physical reasons", etc. "Actually, in addition to cancellations due to singers' personal reasons, etc., the most common problems in the industry are insufficient ticket sales and approval factors." Mou Jingxuan told reporters that according to his observation, this year's concerts were postponed or canceled due to insufficient ticket sales. It is higher than in previous years.
"The concert market in 2023 is so good, so some singers are anxious to 'upgrade' their venues. There is a singer surnamed Zhang. In previous years, he held a concert in a stadium with a capacity of 10,000 people, but this year he has held three or four concerts." Mou Jingxuan told reporters that some singers overestimate their "level of talent." "So it is normal behavior in the market for concerts to be canceled due to insufficient ticket sales. In fact, in recent years, it has been difficult for a singer named Guo and a singer named Wang to sell tickets for their concerts, and it will definitely be even harder to sell this year, so it will be Canceled."
In Mou Jingxuan's view, not all well-known singers can be successfully "promoted" to hold stadium concerts. "The more artists have produced, the greater their success in 'upgrading' venues will be, and they will have the market appeal to issue tickets in seconds."
A relevant person in charge of the ticketing platform was interviewed by a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" It said that as of June 12, there were more than 20,000 performance projects in China, totaling more than 100,000 performances, including singer concerts, etc., and a total of about 170 projects were postponed and canceled.
Jacky Cheung's concert in Chengdu
Picture source: Photo taken by fan Bai Tian on site
170 postponed or canceled performances are a drop in the ocean compared to more than 100,000 performances. But top singers are in venues with tens of thousands of people, and they have always been regarded as the "walking GDP" of the performance industry. According to the Nandu Big Data Research Institute, nearly 60% of concerts have raised their maximum ticket prices in 2023, with 1,000 to 1,500 yuan accounting for 41.94% and 1,500 to 2,000 yuan accounting for 33.87%. How profitable are
concerts? Judging from the box office alone, "The box office for a stadium project is about 25 million to 28 million yuan per game, and the gymnasium is about 8 million yuan per game." An industry insider once told a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" that usually well-known singers also There are brand-named events, and the income is much higher than other events. It is conservatively estimated that the box office revenue of Jacky Cheung's concerts in Guangzhou and Chengdu in 2023 will be around 200 million yuan; the box office of Mayday's 8 concerts in Shanghai in November is roughly estimated to exceed 300 million yuan.
Image source: Damai screenshot
Therefore, in just 6 months this year, more than 60 concerts by singers such as Eason Chan, Jacky Cheung, and Mayday have been postponed or canceled, which is bound to have a certain impact on the box office of the overall performance market in 2024.
Singers have postponed or canceled concerts due to "personal health" reasons or were involved in breach of contract
Singers have canceled concerts due to personal reasons such as illness or injury. This is not an isolated case in the concert market in recent years.A few singers are willing to compensate fans for indirect expenses such as accommodation and transportation in addition to refunding tickets. Each time, it arouses heated discussions among netizens and is even called "fan-favoring" behavior. But there are legal and emotional issues worth exploring behind this.
For example, Eason Chan fainted from heat stroke at the tennis court before the concert and was injured. Fans felt sorry for their idol, but they couldn't help but wonder: Why did Eason Chan do more strenuous exercise before the concert?
"It is more appropriate for professional singers to be cautious about their schedule after confirming their concert schedule." Fu Zhongwen, senior partner of the Shanghai branch of Beijing Longan Law Firm, said in an interview with a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" Said, "There is a contractual relationship between celebrities and concert organizers, and both parties should perform their contracts in good faith. Audiences and organizers have high expectations and investment in celebrities. Generally speaking, celebrities should try to avoid personal reasons before performing. Hobbies and other reasons that are not completely unavoidable affect the performance. "
Picture source: Weibo@陈奕兴 Director
Fu Zhongwen believes that from a legal point of view, if the contract between the singer and the organizer does not mention personal physical reasons as a cancellation or cancellation. The reasons for postponement, and personal physical reasons do not meet the "force majeure" circumstances stipulated by law. Then the singer's behavior of postponing or canceling the concert due to "personal health" reasons may be considered a breach of contract, and the singer must bear corresponding legal liability to the organizer.
"As the organizer of the concert, they have the responsibility to ensure that the performance can be held as scheduled and provide the audience with a good viewing experience. If the concert cannot be held as scheduled for any reason, the organizer will provide the audience with certain compensation. This is not only for The respect of the audience is also the maintenance and improvement of the standards of the performance industry and its own credibility," Fu Zhongwen said.
2024 is almost halfway through. Can the concert market maintain its popularity in the second half of the year? Mou Jingxuan analyzed that compared with last year, the box office of this year's concert was almost the same. There was no expected rapid improvement, but a return to rationality.
Mou Jingxuan also expressed regret for the postponement or cancellation of concerts by singers such as Jacky Cheung and Eason Chan due to physical reasons. Jacky Cheung, 63, debuted in 1984, and Eason Chan, 50, debuted in 1995. "The older generation of singers are still working hard. I hope that young artists can improve their abilities and take over as soon as possible."
Daily Economic News
