‘Blue Dot Fever’: Why So Many Concerts Are Cancelled 2026

Earlier this week, the Pussycat Dolls cancelled almost every date on the US leg of their PCD Forever tour.

In a group statement posted on Instagram, they explained: “After taking an honest look at the North American run, we’ve made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to cancel all but one of the North America dates”.

This came after Meghan Trainor ditched her entire tour, citing “welcoming our new baby girl to our growing family of five” as her reason.

Meanwhile, Post Malone, who just canned six shows in his Big Ass Stadium Tour, said he did so to focus on his new album.

It all paints a pretty tough time for concert-goers. And some fans suspect that for certain artists, the real reason behind abandoned tour dates is what The Times has dubbed “blue dot fever”.

The trend’s name refers to the blue dots that represent unsold tickets on popular vendor Ticketmaster’s site.

Basically, it means not enough people are buying tickets to these concerts, making stars’ tours financially unviable.

And as Zara Larsson recently pointed out, touring is no cheap feat.

Even very successful performers regularly lose money on the road and have to find ways to fund the shows outside of direct ticket sales.

The Times has noted that on Post Malone’s opening tour night, the site saw “blue dots populate all sections of the venue”.

Fans alleged that many seats on Meghan Trainor’s tour were unsold before she cancelled, while the Pussycat Dolls’ “heartbreaking decision” has also been linked to lower sales.

Exactly. Fortune said that might be part of the problem.

The publication said that the average ticket price has shot up in the last year in the US (where many stars have cancelled the most shows), from $115 (£84) last year to $144 (£106) in 2026. It was $82 (£60) in 2020.

That applies on this side of the Atlantic, too: data showed that between 1996 and 2025, the average UK concert ticket price increased 521%.

People simply might not be willing or able to pay. And if you think the inflated ticket costs might cover that shortfall, music data platform AndR claimed: “From a $100 [£73]ticket, the artist keeps an average of $8.16 [£6], [which is] less than the ticketing fees”.

Additionally, rising fuel prices following the Iran conflict mean that tours, which rely on planes, trains and automobiles to get artists from place to place, are seeing their already razor-thin margins shrink.

Iin America, musicians are battling for people’s wages against such stiff competition as 2026′s Fifa World Cup, tickets for which have been described as “extortionate”.