What We Can Learn From Bad Bunny's Canceled Concert in Minneapolis

Nobody likes bad news. Bad Bunny is another story. But the Puerto Rican hip-hop star disappointed some fans when his 2024 concert in Minneapolis was canceled.

The cancelation notice went out Thursday morning (March 21), two days before his scheduled show at the Target Center on Saturday night (March 23).

This is the email notification ticket buyers received at 10:36 a.m. Central Time.

CANCELED: Bad Bunny - Most Wanted Tour at Target Center

Attention fan,

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, your event has been cancelled.

Bad Bunny - Most Wanted Tour

Target Center - Minneapolis, MN

Saturday, March 23rd at 8PM

No action is required to obtain a refund. We're processing it to the original method of payment used at time of purchase once funds are received from the Event Organizer — which is usually completed within 30 days.

If the tickets were transferred to you, the refund will go to the fan who originally purchased the tickets from Ticketmaster.

For answers to frequently asked questions, visit our Help Center.

Ticketmaster Fan Support

My wife was one of those ticket buyers. She and my 15-year-old daughter planned to go to the Bad Bunny concert in Minneapolis. They looked forward to the show before "unforeseen circumstances" scrapped those plans.

The unforeseen circumstances reportedly were poor ticket sales. Ticket prices ranged from $112-$600, and more than half of the Target Center (capacity: 20,000) had unsold tickets. It wasn't because Bad Bunny doesn't have enough fans in Minnesota to fill the arena.?

A majority of Bad Bunny fans are Hispanics or Latinos, and according to the 2023 United States Census, 344,274 Hispanics or Latinos live in Minnesota, with 68,157 in the Twin Cities (42,084 in Minneapolis and 26,073 in St. Paul). The census doesn't say how many Bad Bunny fans live in the North Star State, but we'll bet you 12 carne asada tacos there are enough to fill up the Target Center.

Remember, Bad Bunny put Spanish-language music on the mainstream map (read: channels) in the United States and worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning "King of Latin Trap" was the most-streamed Spotify artist for three straight years, from 2020 to 2022, and generated over 18.5 billion streams on Spotify in 2022, the biggest streaming year of any artist in the platform's history.

Bad Bunny also has a net worth of $88 million. The reggaeton rapper is not hurting for money.

Not everyone has that kind of disposable bread, though. And that's why Bad Bunny didn't sell out his Minneapolis show.?

A 2023 analysis by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) found that Hispanic or Latino household income in Minnesota is $64,664, slightly above the U.S. median of $60,566 for Hispanic or Latino households.?

Ticket prices were too high for Bad Bunny's core fans to afford.?

Instead of playing in front of a half-empty Target Center, Bad Bunny and promoters called off the show. Bad Bunny has not made any public statement about the cancelation, and it's unlikely to be rescheduled since the Bad Bunny concert has been removed from the Target Center website.

Despite some speculation the concert got canceled because a snowstorm is scheduled to hit Minneapolis on Sunday, don't believe that hype.?

Blame ego. Blame greed. Blame short-sightedness.

Whatever the reason, the people lost. And many of those people are Hispanics and Latinos. His fans are bummed and asking questions. From comments on his Instagram page:

Why was minniapolis [sic] concert cancelled. I was traveling to come see you

Why did you cancel Minneapolis concert ??????

Will Minneapolis be rescheduled!!!???

WHY DID YOU CANCEL THE MINNESOTA SHOW

Why did you cancel MN ?? think of all those fans who were so excited to see you ??

WHY DID YOU DO MN LIKE THAT ?????!

Why was Minneapolis canceled? ?? Minneapolis is small but we loves you

WHY DID YOU CANCEL MINNEAPOLIS CONCERT???? I’m so SAD!!!!!!

You get the idea. Canceling the show impacted a lot of people. Not just fans.?It impacted arena workers, merchandise sellers, food vendors, local restaurants, local hotels, and local businesses. Everyone who would have gotten a Bad Bunny economic bump with him in town.

This isn't to bash Bad Bunny. He seems like a good dude.

This is meant to point out how he could have turned a negative into a positive. Instead of canceling the show on Thursday, what if Bad Bunny had told the promoters to lower the ticket prices to $20, $10, or $5? The concert would have been sold out in 5 minutes.

They could have contacted the (LEDC MN) Latino Economic Development Center in St. Paul, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) in the City of Minneapolis , or COPAL MN (Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action) to get local feedback and brainstorm other ideas for solutions besides pulling the plug on the concert.

They might not have made money on the Minneapolis stop, but there are 31 cities on his "Most Wanted Tour" and 47 shows. They could have made money in 30 cities and 46 shows.?

They could have built something money can't buy: trust from the community. Trust can be turned into power. With a simple act of goodwill, by saying the show must go on, Bad Bunny and his team could have gotten a long-term return on their investment.

Bad Bunny would have been an even bigger hero to his fans. He would have made new fans around the world. He would have given the city of Minneapolis a boost. And he would have shined a light on Latino communities, which still get overlooked in America, even though there are 64 million Hispanics in the U.S. who make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population.

The buying power of Hispanics in the U.S. is expected to grow to $2.8 trillion by 2026. They are an important market to reach. And they are not alone. There are many other overlooked communities in the United States.

The Bad Bunny concert cancelation in Minneapolis can be a lesson for journalism, local newsrooms, and any industry that wants to build community. Make sure you are serving the whole community. And when you have an opportunity to be generous, be generous.

A little generosity can go a long way.

How to Turn Bad News Into Good News

Journalism faces a crisis in local news today. This problem presents a great opportunity to overcome bias and blind spots. Latinos aren't the only community that is undervalued with news coverage. Small audiences that used to be small have become large, and there are emerging news ecosystems.

News organizations that want to be sustainable should be looking for ways to serve the whole community and meet the needs of the whole community.?

Ask what the community needs. Then, help create solutions for the community. It's a simple formula.

Good journalism has value. News consumers value valuable information. If news publishers want people to support their organizations and pay for news, they need to provide journalism that is worth paying for and has value.

That means providing quality, nonpartisan journalism. That means listening to the community and building community. That means stop renting audiences on third-party platforms (social media, search) and having a direct 1:1 connection with them (newsletters, IRL events, digital communities you manage and moderate like Discord channels, text messaging). That means stop writing for clicks and write for positive impact.

You can measure positive impact by how many people's lives you make better. It's an easy metric to measure. You will know it when newsletter subscriptions increase. You will know it when paid memberships increase week over week, month over month, year over year. You will know it when revenue from events, sponsorships, and local advertising goes up. You will know it by the number of positive letters to the editor you get, the positive mentions and shares on social media you receive, and when community members recognize you at your local market and thank you for helping turn community problems into solutions.

A well-functioning society needs good journalism. Publishers need to show the value of good journalism. Publishers can do this by listening to the community and then giving the community the news and information the community needs.

What are the community's pain points, challenges, and problems? Local news publishers can help solve those problems for the community through good journalism. Ask questions. Provide answers. This is the job of journalism.

? Identify the local issue

? Investigate

? Mobilize social capital

? Propose solutions

? Hold power accountable

? Create change

? Make money

? Invest in community

Newspapers and news publishers can be part of the problem or the solutions. Solving problems is more profitable. People will pay for solutions. People will not pay for opinions. Everyone has those. People will pay for facts and results. Not everyone has those. Whichever news organizations can build trust with their communities and help get positive results for their communities will win.

Sustainable business models for journalism and news publishers in the future will be based on quality journalism and community building. Quality journalism over quantity garbage. Quality wins.

This is pragmatism.

U.S. publishers are stuck in a scale model. It is why they are struggling so much, as Thomas Baekdal has explained.

Put value over volume, as Charlie Rybak and Andrew Haeg are showing with Minneapolis Voices.

This is why I am leading the Mercado Central Local Journalism Project with the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation . We are telling the story of this thriving Latino cooperative marketplace in Minneapolis to show how any community can use asset-based community development (ABCD) to grow their community. By focusing on what's strong, we can fix what's wrong.

Challenges are opportunities in disguise.?

Quality, combined with caring for your community, is how you build audiences. Quality, compassion, and giving are how you succeed.

We can accomplish a lot by putting aside self-interest and serving others. When people work together, positive things can happen. Anyone can help turn bad news into good news.

Start today in your community.