Is the concert residency slowly replacing traditional touring?

Going on tour as a major artist is like mobilizing an army for an offensive that will last months, if not years. A battalion of semi-trucks needs to be wrangled to transport gear from city to city. Buses need to be rented for the act and crew. Hotels, airfare and/or private jets have to be booked. Often, multiple stages plus sound and lighting rigs must be assembled, so that while a show is happening in one venue, things are already being set up at the next. Support staff, from caterers to chiropractors, have to be mobilized. Backstage amenities must be organized. Merch needs to be sourced, transported and replenished throughout the tour.

Audiences demand a spectacle for their concert dollar, so productions have to be wilder and more technologically advanced while remaining portable. And because touring is an artist’s major source of revenue, everyone is on tour, driving up the cost of renting gear, trucking and roadies. Touring has never been more expensive and fans are very close to that red line when it comes to what they’ll pay to see a show. Raising prices isn’t an option anymore, yet expenses keep climbing. Of great concern is the skyrocketing price of diesel fuel for all those trucks and buses.

Then there’s all the red tape and paperwork. Having to advance shows in different cities and different countries. Crossing borders with loads of gear and personnel who may have, er, issues. Visas. Currency conversions. Settlements. The accounting complexities are enormous.

Then there’s the human toll. Being away from home and living out of hotels, backstage lounges and airports is very hard on the mind, body and spirit. It’s to the point where many musicians are questioning whether touring is worth it anymore, especially when it comes to emerging talent, indie musicians, or those in the middle class of the music industry.

What if there were a better way that was cheaper, easier on the artist and could provide a superior experience for the audience? Enter the residency.

Las Vegas was the pioneer in this area. As far back as the 1950s, casinos and hotels began booking long-term engagements for entertainers ranging from Sinatra and the Rat Pack to Liberace to Elvis. Since people were already flocking to the city to gamble, why not give them another way to spend their money? Artists loved it because everyone came to them. Vegas is still king of the residency, hosting strings of shows by Céline Dion, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Bruno Mars, Garth Brooks, Lady Gaga, Adele, Shania Twain and dozens more.

The Sphere is the latest iteration of the Las Vegas residency, providing an immersive experience that you can’t get anywhere else in the world (well, until the new one opens in Abu Dhabi). It’s also very lucrative for artists. U2 played 40 shows over weekends and grossed US$245 million. The Eagles made US$290 million over 58 shows (so far), pulling in around US$5 million per gig. By the time their stand finishes in January, the overall gross will be close to half a billion. Metallica, No Doubt, Dead & Company, Phish and a few others have also had great paydays, all without having to move from a single venue. Margins expanded. ROI went through the roof.

The live music industry is falling in love with residencies for this reason. Why spend money going to fans when you can entice the fans to come to you?

Live Nation experimented in Munich in the summer of 2024. A temporary stadium was built within a space dubbed “Adele World.” Construction cost €40 million and featured 250 tons of stage equipment and the biggest LED video screen ever constructed, all for just ten shows. Through the month of August. It was an insane success, attracting 750,000 people. Gross sales were never released to the public, but it’s whispered that Adele walked away with US$50 million. Then the whole venue was taken down.

Long stays in arenas and stadiums have become increasingly common. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour had two stretches: one for three nights and another for five, at Wembley Stadium in London. Coldplay did 10 nights at Estadio River Plate Buenos Aires before completing a 16-night run at Wembley Stadium. Shakira completed a 13-show stint in Madrid in a temporary venue attracting 55,000 people per night, grossing at least US$200 million. To put it another way, she attracted more money and people to the city than F1 and a visit by Pope Leo XIV.

Next year, the Backstreet Boys have 12 shows booked for the Rogers Centre in Toronto. And Oasis has 11 sold-out nights at Etihad Stadium in Manchester along with four grand finale shows at Knebworth Park in September 2027. And Céline Dion is set for a 26-concert residency at Plentitude Arena in Nanterre, France.

In each case, the act commands the fans to come to them. And because transportation/setup/teardown costs are greatly reduced, profits must be astronomical.

While this is all fine and good for the artist, this isn’t much of a deal for fans. While residencies may hold down the price of a concert ticket due to lowered operating costs (well, we’ll see), fans increasingly have to pony up for new expenses like airfare and hotel. Wanna see your favourite band live? Forget about them coming to you. You now have to go to them.

Meanwhile, governments are loving residencies because of the economic impact they can have on a city. The promotion of music tourism has become a priority in some spots. In the U.K., for example, people traveling to shows brought in £11.2 billion at last count. Since the ABBA Voyage avatar show debuted in London in May 2022, it has brought in nearly US$3 billion.

Other countries are getting on board with music tourism, too. Egypt (the pyramids are always a great venue), Chile, India and Australia are all working on plans. Just this past week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the American Music Tourism Act into law. By creating a welcoming atmosphere for music tourists, you just know that managers, promoters and artists are going to try to capitalize on the opportunity with more residencies.

The one hold-out might be U2, a band that, outside of The Sphere opportunity, has always been determined to bring their music to their fans around the world, even though the operating costs of their tours has been insane. Both The Joshua Tree Tour and the ZooTV Tour almost bankrupted the band. The 360 Tour required three “claw” stages to be custom-built at the cost of US$30 million each. Rumours are that their next tour in 2027 will run over several years and consist of up to six legs. It sounds like an old-school world tour that will travel the planet like the old days.

Meanwhile, everyone else might want to get used to budgeting for more than just a concert ticket to see your favourite band. You may have to go to them.