Did the botched launch of Rihanna’s album dilute enthusiasm about her tour?
Ticket sales have been soft—the demand is such that she’s only booked for one night in most of the arenas on the North American leg, while European stadiums are even softer. The Weeknd had been installed as special guest star for Rihanna’s European tour, but pulled out when he found out he would not be co-headlining and had to go onstage before dark. By contrast, upper-demo U.S. summer tours including Paul Simon, Sting, Don Henley and David Gilmour are doing strong business.
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Since his career-high debut of 957k for Graduation in 2007—which seems like an eternity ago—Kanye’s first-week sales have declined in parallel with the contraction of the business as a whole, bottoming out with 327k on 2013’s Yeezus.
While Pablo was hailed for being the first album to top the consumption charts with minimal actual sales, Kanye’s decision to forgo a conventional setup and release has been economically calamitous not just for him but for those who hold the rights to his music.
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