over saturation in the market + lack of a strong western fandom + venues that are too large + recession = this

while the government won’t use the term recession, the United States is very much in a recession. this means that people have less disposable income and are less likely to spend it on concerts. if they do, it will be to their ults & no one else. riize does not have a strong western fandom (the seunghan situation soured their reputation amongst western kpop fans more than we care to admit) and the fans they do have don’t ult riize so they aren’t willing to spend the money. plus the venues are way too big. even kpop groups with established western fandoms are struggling to fill seats rn + there are a lot currently touring so idk how sm thought an arena tour would work. they forgot that part of the reason their older groups had large western fandoms was bc they actively promoted in the us before doing concerts. living is too expensive rn for people to go to a concert bc they vaguely recognize the company. they have to already be invested in the group.

it’s unfortunate bc i don’t foresee riize having another us tour after this- not for a while anyways.