Lady Gaga needs hip surgery – and the cost of canceling 22 shows on her Born This Way Ball tour adds up to enough money to bring a shudder to the best Poker Face.
Billboard estimates $25 million in refunds. Rolling Stone suggests the amount is closer to $30 million. Either way, if you are getting your money back for tickets to her February 25th Verizon Center concert, you won’t be alone.
(This past Thursday was the first day for refunds – get them where you purchased your tickets.)
A similar situation happened on U2’s 360 Tour in 2010 because of Bono’s back surgery. However, the 16 dates were postponed, not canceled. So, although ticket sales for those concerts were worth about $100 million (they were stadium shows), Billboard says 97% of ticket-holders didn’t ask for refunds and waited for the tour to resume.
According to Rolling Stone, Gaga and the concert promoters should be insured for much of their losses, since the cancellation was due to medical necessity.
Lady Gaga had planned two shows next week in Philadelphia. Nearby the concert venue, you can see the next-best thing this Tuesday night: a screening of a pre-recorded Gaga show on a 32-foot high-def screen.
Here are links to further information from Billboard and Rolling Stone.
