West didn't vote, he told the audience, but said he would have voted for President-elect Donald Trump. A decade earlier, West said Republican President George W. Bush didn't care about black people because of the administration's lacklustre response to Hurricane Katrina.
Prior to the hospitalisation reports, West and Live Nation declined to give a reason for calling off the tour, saying only that "the remaining dates on the Saint Pablo Tour have been cancelled. Tickets will be fully refunded at point of purchase." The tour, set to conclude Dec. 31, had future stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Boston and Washington, among others.
The tour was one of the top sellers of the fall, according to Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of industry publication Pollstar. Saint Pablo shows have grossed NZ$42 million so far this year, he said. West has performed 21 shows in 13 cities, averaging NZ$3.3 million per city.
In 2013, the last time West went on tour, the rapper registered the 36th biggest tour in North America, posting more than NZ$42 million in ticket sales across 27 performances.
"His business has been excellent," Bongiovanni said. "There is no financial motivation for cancelling. I'm sure Live Nation didn't want it cancelled."
Live Nation will miss out on sales of tickets, food and advertising. Yet an arena tour is unlikely large enough to dent earnings for the concert giant, which put on more than 6,000 shows in the most recent quarter.
West's liability is less clear. Artists take home the lion's share of ticket sales, and are responsible for the cost of the tour. Insurance protects the artist and promoter from disasters and with no reason given for the cancellation, West's total losses are unknown.
