Wary U.S. Pop Acts Put Overseas Tours on Hold

First it was Janet Jackson. Then Destiny’s Child. Now the Dave Matthews Band has joined a chorus of American pop acts who have canceled or postponed overseas tours since last month’s terrorist attacks.

“I think that there is probably a sense from an American standpoint that they might be more of a target,” said Gary Bongiovanni of Pollstar, which tracks the concert industry.

The cancellations will probably cause a 10% drop in overall concert grosses for the year, said Kelly Barbieri of Amusement Business, which also monitors the concert business.

It’s another setback for the industry, which already was experiencing an off year before Sept. 11.

“The economy is down, ticket prices are up,” said Barbieri. “Ticket grosses were OK for the third quarter, but attendance was down.”

Jackson canceled her European tour two weeks after the World Trade Center and Pentagon assaults, citing concern for her fans.

Since then, Weezer has canceled its European tour; Destiny’s Child has pushed back its fall European tour until May; Slipknot postponed its “Pledge of Allegiance” European tour until sometime in 2002; and this week, Dave Matthews Band canceled its tour of Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom, citing the attacks and the need to stay close to family. Several other tours also have been delayed or canceled.

Arista Records President Antonio Reid told the Associated Press shortly after the attacks that he expected overseas events to be canceled “because artists are skittish about flying right now.”

‘N Sync had no overseas concerts planned, but even member Lance Bass acknowledged he was reluctant to travel.

Dave Zedeck, co-founder and partner of the Evolution Agency, a music firm which represents clients such as Britney Spears and ‘N Sync, said performers are definitely worried.

“I think it’s twofold--the concern of what happens there, and secondly, what happens if they’re there and something happens here,” he said.

Barbieri said she couldn’t recall a time when so many acts have canceled European dates, even during the Gulf War.