Rachel Chinouriri Drops Off Remi Wolf Tour: ‘The Financial Strain on Touring Has Become Too Much’
The English singer-songwriter said she put all her savings into her live show and the upcoming North American posed too much of a risk
Rachel Chinouriri performing at the Forbidden Fruit Festival 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. Kieran Frost/Redferns/Getty Images
English singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri has called off her upcoming North American tour, citing the major “financial risk it would entail.”
Chinouriri was scheduled to support Remi Wolf on a handful of dates this fall and play several festivals as well. In a statement shared on social media, the musician explained: “This year I’ve invested all my savings and earnings into my shows, styling, and band to be able to tour. While my debut album has opened many amazing opportunities, the financial strain on touring has become too much.”
Chinouriri said she tried to secure additional funding to support the trek but was unsuccessful. “This is the tough reality of the music industry, whether you’re signed or independent.” (Chinouriri released her debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, on Parlophone, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.)
“Thank you for your understanding and the support, it means everything to me,” Chinouriri said. “I will continue to work hard, and I can’t wait to see you all on the November tour [of the U.K. and Ireland]! To my US darlings I will be back as soon as I can!”
Wolf showed her support for Chinouriri on Instagram Stories, re-sharing her statement and writing, “Love you, Rachel.” She also revealed that Slimdan would step in to provide support on the dates Chinouriri had withdrawn from.
Decisions like Chinouriri’s have become unfortunately common in recent years, especially for younger and up-and-coming artists. After the pandemic shut down live music for almost two years, touring resumed in a new landscape fraught with higher costs and lower profit margins, on top of the continued health risks.
“It starts with the fact that the system was already broken,” Santigold told Rolling Stone in 2022 after canceling a big tour of her own. “People were just trying to hang on, prepandemic. As the music business has been changing over the years, there’s been hurdle after hurdle for musicians. That includes streaming and us being left out of that equation as labels and everybody else were ready to grab their piece of the pie and basically throw us under the bus. So then everyone said, ‘Oh, well, artists can still make money touring, right?’ We can make money touring, but is it enough money to sustain us? I don’t think it ever was.”
From Rolling Stone US.
