Recently, mainland Chinese singer Zeng Yike’s “Charming Danger” tour Suzhou stop, originally scheduled for September 6th, was abruptly canceled. The organizer stated in the announcement that the ticket sales for the performance could not cover the production cost, sparking attention.
Zeng Yike, a graduate of Jilin International Studies University, is a mainland Chinese singer-songwriter. In response to the sudden cancellation of the Suzhou concert by the organizer, Zeng Yike’s studio posted on their official Weibo on August 14th: “We have not received any genuine and complete ticket sales data from the organizer, nor have we been involved in the evaluation process of ticket sales and costs. The statement about ‘ticket sales unable to cover costs’ was not made by us. We have been diligently preparing for the performance according to plan, striving to present the best stage for everyone.”
Subsequently, the organizer Hangzhou Hulu Dog Cultural Development Co., Ltd. publicly released screenshots of the ticket sales data for this performance. The screenshots showed that the highest ticket price for this performance was 1680 yuan with 158 tickets planned in stock, but only 38 tickets were sold; for the 1280 yuan tickets with 88 planned in stock, only 3 were sold; even the lowest-priced 380 yuan tickets did not sell out.
The organizer also stated that the artist receives a fixed performance fee, whether the box office is successful or not, and they are not obligated to disclose ticket sales to the artist.
In response to this, an industry insider in the performing arts sector told the Yangtze Evening News, “It’s common practice for artists to receive a fixed performance fee. The main risk in ticket sales lies with the organizer – they make more money if sales are higher and earn less if sales are lower. If the ticket sales are dismal and cannot cover the production cost, it is possible for the performance to be canceled. In many cases, the artist’s fee is paid in installments, and when it comes to ticket sales, at least a part of it has already been paid. If the performance is canceled, this part of the fee cannot be recovered, and if the cost cannot be covered, the organizer can only cancel the performance to cut losses.”
On August 19th, the mainland entertainment ticketing platform Damai Network showed that only the Chongqing stop of Zeng Yike’s recent “Charming Danger” tour on August 29th was still selling tickets, while there was no information available for the Suzhou stop. Currently, tickets for this performance will be refunded to the ticket purchasers.
It was reported that last year, Zeng Yike’s “Charming Danger” tour Zhengzhou stop scheduled for December 7th was also canceled, with the refund process announced, but the specific reason for the cancellation was not disclosed.
After three years of epidemic lockdowns in mainland China, the economy’s recovery is weak, and people lack confidence in the future, leading to a trend of downgraded consumption.
On June 9th, the National Bureau of Statistics of the Communist Party of China announced that the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) had been in deflation for the fourth consecutive month in May. The weaker demand within the country has not been offset by the consumption growth during two national holidays.
On August 15th, the National Bureau of Statistics of the Communist Party of China reported that retail sales in July only increased by 3.7% year-on-year, lower than the estimated 4.6% and significantly slower than June’s 4.8%, marking the lowest increase so far this year.