Asia
After Ye’s success, Hainan Island invites Cardi B & Travis Scott
China’s island is being touted as a concert destination
In 2024, two of the biggest events in the Asian concert industry were Ye doing two shows at China’s Hainan Island, and Taylor Swift selling over 300,000 tickets over six nights in Singapore. Now, Hainan is trying to combine the two by inviting Hip Hop heavyweights Cardi B and Travis Scott to perform.
According to the South China Morning Post, the authorities in Hainan are interested in turning the island into a major music destination. It sees itself as “Among the world’s unique performing arts cities with a highly open and inclusive attitude,” said the chief of the city’s Bureau of Tourism, culture, radio, film and television, Wang Ke, on Friday, January 10. After Ye sold out two shows at Wuyuan River Stadium in September [and made over US$7 million for each show], China looks like a big player in getting talent to do shows.
In March, Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the sneaky part out loud when he admitted that Singapore paid Taylor Swift between US$2-3 million to have six of her Eras shows only in Singapore and nowhere else in Southeast Asia. The reasoning for this was that the six concerts generated US$250 million in music tourism dollars.
China is an expert at subsidizing goods, so this aligns with their modus operandi. Cardi B is expected to put out an album in 2025, so she could easily sell out multiple dates at the 40,000-seat arena in Hainan. Travis Scott just finished his Circus Maximus tour, which grossed US$210 million in over a year, so his name could also get a lot of Hip Hop music fans to visit Hainan for the first time.
Neither rapper has confirmed the shows but LiFTED will have all the details if they happen.