While the music industry is busy preparing for the imminent release of Ed Sheeran’s highly-anticipated new album ÷, that is just one part of Team Sheeran's wider plans for 2017 and beyond.
So far the UK touring plans scheduled are relatively low-key, with Sheeran booked to play arenas in April and May - a notable contrast to his three-night stand at Wembley Stadium in July 2015. In the new issue of Music Week, however, Ed Sheeran’s manager Stuart Camp has suggested that this is all merely a dipping of a toe into the water compared to what is in store for next year.
"In 2018, we just do stadiums," Camp told Music Week. "I knew three nights at The O2 would be an underplay and create a bit of fuss, but I didn’t realise quite how much. But to be fair, we wanted to play this year and we can’t do all the stadiums all the time, because they’re weather dependent, so we knew we’d do arenas first. But in summer ‘18 there’s a lot of outdoor shows, a proper stadium tour - even obscure stadiums!"
On the topic of touring, Camp also commented on the secondary ticketing furore surrounding the dates.
"It’s always a shame," said Camp. "We do what we can to try and stop the bastards putting them on the secondary market, but you’re always going to get it. A load of people bought tickets on [secondary sites], even though we told them not to, quite explicitly and they were getting billed for three or four grand. Everyone comes back to us like, What are you going to do about it? It is frustrating."
The Ed Sheeran special issue of Music Week is available now and includes our Big Interview with Stuart Camp.
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