“A lot of bands — it could be pretty devastating for their financial picture” to cancel a tour, says one band manager. “We would survive. We’re one of the lucky ones.&…
Not only are the problems with cancelled tours bad for the artists and their crews, it's also bad for local crews who depend on the revenue from working those shows. I've worked in the live music industry for a couple decades, and shows that go under with little notice cause a huge problem in the paycheck area.
It generally does not pay very well to be an audio engineer, or a lighting engineer, or a stagehand. When you all of a sudden lose a source of revenue you were counting on, it hurts.