Why Are Artists Announcing Tours More Than a Year in Advance?

We love concerts. Who doesn’t? There’s nothing like being in the same room as your favorite artist, breathing the same air, screaming the lyrics with thousands of strangers who you feel like you’ve known longer than just standing in line together. But lately, it feels like those nights are getting… further and further away.

Take Doja Cat. The pop star just announced her Vie World Tour to promote her new ’80s-inspired album. She’ll kick off in Australia this November, then hit Asia, South America, and Europe—all before she even touches the United States. Her first U.S. show hits October 2026. Yes, next October.

Ariana Grande did something similar. The ponytail princess announced a tour for her 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine, this past August. It will begin next June.

The question isn’t whether we love live shows. It’s more so, what gives with tours that don’t reach your city for almost a year?

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A big part of this trend boils down to the fragile (and wildly expensive) state of the live-music business. The cost of trucks, fuel, insurance, stage crews, and lighting gear has shot up since the pandemic. For artists, booking arenas a year or two ahead is often the only way to secure dates and lock in deals with venues before someone else snatches them up. (It also offers a longer runway for ticket sales at a time when it’s not unusual to see an arena tour canceled.)

And because touring costs more nowadays, that inevitably drives up the cost of tickets as well. In 2022, when it came to top 100 music tours, the average cost of a ticket was $128.45. In 2023, it jumped to $152.97, according to Pollstar. And that’s before fees, “platinum pricing,” or the resale market even enter the chat.

In the age of surprise drops and endless hype cycles, there’s also no consistent rhythm to tour announcements. Some artists announce tours before an album drops. Others wait months or even years after a release to hit the road. Yet, for fans, the timeline jump-around still feels unfair because no matter when an artist might announce a tour, tickets still go on sale in a week, giving you virtually no time to save. Beyoncé, for example, has always been an artist people had to have separate “savings” bank accounts for. Now that’s the case for more artists of varying calibers.

So how much lead time do fans actually want? Because, again, it’s not the long wait for the concert that stings. Instead, it’s the short window to buy the ticket. You might not know where you’ll be living, working, or even who you’ll be dating in 2026. But you’re expected to cough up $300 (and that’s being generous) in the next few weeks to secure a seat for a show happening next fall?

There has to be a better balance between the show is next month and actually give us your money and we’ll see you in 11 months. Fans deserve a realistic timeline that lets them budget for shows they care about instead of a financial panic every time an artist updates their Instagram bio.

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