While the news that Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl had taken an unfortunate spill during a performance at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden earlier this month was heartbreaking for the band’s European fans, who were gearing up to enjoy a series of sold-out stadium shows, it was even worse for the band’s accountant.
As Billboard reports, as a result of Grohl’s injuries, which included a fractured fibula, one of the biggest band’s in music today was forced to cancel the remainder of its European tour, costing the band as much as $10 million in lost fees and travel expenses not offset by box office revenue.
However, this is just the beginning. With Grohl speculating it could be a little while until we see him on a live stage again — “I need to make sure we have YEARS of gigs ahead of us,” he wrote in a blog post — the band could potentially be forced to cancel all or part of their upcoming North American tour.
The tour is slated to begin on 4th July in Washington, D.C. and there’s been no word as yet regarding the state of the tour. The band’s handlers gave a “no comment” when prodded by Billboard and Grohl’s blog post simply reassured fans he was doing everything in his power to recuperate as quickly as possible.
The Foos are a stadium-level band in Europe and around the world, commanding a salary of $1 million per show or more as a festival headliner (among the band’s canceled European dates was a headlining spot at Glastonbury festival) and even more when headlining stadiums.
The band cancelled seven shows in total, including an appearance at Pinkpop festival and several UK stadium performances. So, how much are they on the hook for, if at all? For starters, the band had been in the territory since late May, playing shows across the UK, Denmark, and Germany.
The band’s gear that could not be duplicated locally would have been with them in Europe and deposits would have been paid on other sound, lights, and production. The tour likely had trucks on hold across the country at significant expense, some of which, Billboard claims, won’t be recoupable.
The band’s own equipment must be chartered back Stateside at considerable cost, as much as $200,000. It’s an expense they would have incurred anyway, but would have been mitigated by actually playing their scheduled dates.
Another significant looming expense is salaries, per diems, and hotels for scores of crew and tour associates, which are again, not balanced against the revenues coming in. Also at stake are considerable marketing and PR expenses and the un-recoupable labor hours of shutting an overseas tour down mid-run.
However, as Tone Deaf previously covered, the band would have almost certainly taken out a “contingency” insurance plan, which could potentially cover the millions of dollars in marketing, travel, transportation, and other expenses, as well as any foregone profits.
This all depends on the level of insurance carried by the vested parties, including the band, managers, promoters, etc. In order to be covered, the reason for cancellation must be out of the band’s control. A shattered fibula for the band’s frontman would certainly seem to qualify.
If the Foos’ insurance is comprehensive, the band could likely come through this virtually unscathed, broken leg notwithstanding. The question is what happens next for the group, who are still scheduled to play a lucrative run of North American shows that could bring in grosses of over $1 million each.
Image via Billboard
