The Marketing Myth of The Farewell Tour
By Ella Bernard
Dead & Co’s 2023 tour was marketed as their farewell tour, the nostalgic culmination of decades of fans following the band on tour since the 60s when the Grateful Dead came together. It appeared to be the end of an era.
An Instagram post from the band on January 31st of this year brazenly read “but there are more ways to make sure ‘the music never stops’”, a nod to the Dead's song ‘The Music Never Stopped’ that has become an anthem of the band’s enduring cultural impact. With that post they announced a two month stint at the Vegas Sphere. The loophole: this two month stint in Vegas is a “residency” rather than a tour and will be guaranteed to rake in just as much cash from fans grateful to see the band live one last time.
Behind this joyous announcement is an incredibly masterful marketing team. Despite their bohemian roots, the Grateful Dead has amassed a wealthy following. Their leading members were raking in millions per year in the mid 90s. Ticket prices for their residency at the sphere will cost you an arm, a leg, and a pound of cocaine for a nosebleed seat.
I believe the farewell tour to be an incredibly effective marketing phenomenon to spur fans to shell out an extra few hundreds for a shot to see their favorites for the last time. I feel as if Elton John has been on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour for years - and the truth is he has. The three year goodbye tour was extended by two years because of covid, running from 2018 to 2023. The tour sold over six million tickets and grossed $939 million USD. After achieving the title for the highest grossing tour ever, he added 49 show dates in Europe, once again extending the life of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Throughout the tour, John promised this is actually the end of anything remotely to the scale of Farewell Yellow Brick Road, but said to not count him out for a few sporadic shows in the future. That last clause that keeps fans on their toes, and keeps the hope alive he will come out and play a few more times, which he inevitably will. Reaching the level of stardom Elton John has, your career never really ends. If this truly was his final farewell, finishing on the top of the charts and on top of the world is not a bad way to go out.
Marketing aside, for some performers any show really could be their farewell. Paul McCartney, who is guilty of continuously extending his Got Back tour, is still putting on three hour shows at 82. The Rolling Stones are still kicking with an average age of 78 years between them . The farewell tour might not always be purely a marketing tactic, but a genuine effort to squeeze in one more, and then if a following tour is possible, it's a lucky strike. Musicians persistently push the boundaries of how long they can go. Bob Dylan, who once called his life “The Neverending Tour,” according to his website is claiming to finish touring in 2024 when he will be 83 years old. This is of course until the next set of dates is announced, or until something prevents him from doing so. I remember my best friend’s mom, an avid lifelong concert goer, cutting them some slack, attending Billy Joel, Elton John, and Sir McCartney all in the same summer 一 and definitely spending a fortune in the process. Sure their performances were a bit more lethargic than when she saw them when she was younger, but she was proud of them for getting out there and doing the thing. While some of these stars do have incredible tirelessness for their age, the value of seeing a great in the flesh outweighs this slow down in physical speed. Our favorites are taking radical measures in effort to keep on rocking the stage for as long as possible, like McCartney’s vegetarianism. Springsteen fans never have to worry about a final farewell thanks to his ‘one meal a day accompanied with extensive aerobics’ lifestyle. Some of these musicians clearly are not doing it for the money, but out of their passion for performing. So while the farewell tour is not always just a marketing tactic, it still appeals to our sentimentality.
Who can really be upset at the prospect of seeing your favorite in concert just one more time - unless you’ve paid thousands to follow their final tour across the country for old times sake, just for them to announce another. The reality is it's hard to stay mad and stay away from the temptation to yet again buy tickets. I’ll always admire the ingenuity from a marketing standpoint and forgive the fictitious farewell tour every time. It’s really hard to say goodbye, so if I don't have to, I won't.