Why do bands underplay?

An underplayed show is a show in a venue that’s definitely too small for the status of the act. Like Harry Styles playing in a 1500 capacity venue, that’s an underplay. But your favorite act playing a smaller venue than the last time, that’s an underplay as well. And it happens constantly. Why? Because the only thing an act wants is sold out shows. By underplaying, the act always has a sold out show, plus it is great marketing. Everyone that could make it into the gig will talk or post about it, so free publicity!

As you can imagine, after covid, there are so many tours happening that ticket sales aren’t as good as they used to be. There are too many acts on tour and ticket prices are high, so it’s obvious that a lot of shows aren’t selling. The clever acts have a nice way to avoid that: by underplaying. So, if you see any underplayed shows nowadays, you can ask yourself: is it because they can’t sell enough tickets or do they need the marketing?