Paul McCartney's Tour Postponement Has Ripple Effect Through Industry

What happens when a superstar is forced to delay shows?

Rained Out There Paul McCartney dates left thousands of disappointed fans and promoters struggling to adjust their schedules. And while the long-term costs of his recent viral infection are likely to be minimal, delays and cancellations show can become fraught with complications.

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McCartney had to pay perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars for the musicians, crew, trucks and buses hired to set up the program originally planned for June, sources say concert business, but is also likely had insurance in case cancellation. "It would be a catastrophe if Paul could not walk again, never," says Doc McGhee, director of Kiss, Darius Rucker and others. "But a postponement is only one drawback I've seen people cancel shows sold out and come back later and make 50 percent of [the] company -. Dudaría that happen to a Beatle."

Although McCartney, 71, had to postpone all his shows June in the U.S. for new dates in October, said in a statement this week that he is "feeling great" and all accounts suggest that the virus he contracted in Asia last month is a minor health problem. "Sorry, but it will be a couple of weeks before we were rocking in America again," McCartney continued, adding that he was "taking the advice of my docs' to take it easy for a few days." Rescheduled U.S. tour stadiums and arenas will begin July 5 in Albany, New York, and concluded October 28 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Representatives McCartney declined to comment further, and its promoters did not respond to interview requests.)

Performers and concert promoters often negotiate in entertainment ensuring in advance, depending on the tour - McCartney, who has been reliable for decades, can spend less secure than, say, Guns N 'Roses, which has a history shows cancellation. Deferrals generally take less than a direct financial hit of cancellations. McCartney managers are likely to have to pay the salaries of the crew and trucking contracts for June dates missing, and then renegotiate contracts for all events for October; concert promoters have to spend thousands of dollars advertising the new dates and deal with reimbursements fans. "It will be an expense," McGhee says, "but it's a nuisance."

As for the health of McCartney, McGhee and others in the concert business use the word "concerned." "Paul puts on a very intense show - is there two hours singing his heart out and playing the ass," says Bert Holman, manager of the Allman Brothers Band, which postponed four shows from March to October, due to 66 bronchitis years of age, the singer Gregg Allman. "You do that every day; it starts to get really tiring."

During the last decade, the artists in their 60s and 70s have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue concert - The 10 touring acts of Pollstar on each of the last two years have included the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters and the Eagles. "These aging rockers are more susceptible to health problems," adds Tim Jorstad, manager of the Grateful Dead and travel business manager and Carlos Santana. "When you are on the road, these guys are very, very focused on staying healthy, and isolation from someone who is sick."

Another tactic is simply to preserve the reduction in the frequency and duration of travel. The Stones, for example, have drastically reduced the duration of their tours in recent years, while the Allmans played their last concert in October. "It's definitely kicking - see Billy Joel, who plays [more or less] once a month or so, and I do not think Aerosmith is doing-back-to-back shows at the moment," says Holman. "And who is replacing?"

"When you have an illness that lasts longer," says Jorstad. "But the only thing I ever want to do is stop performance."