When a band posts an intricately designed tour poster on Instagram, fans flock to the comment section. Many excitedly proclaim which date they will attend, but there is an inevitable bunch with a different sentiment.

Dispersed among the joyous comments are those expressing disappointment that their favorite band has skipped their city. Several of these instances involve American fans pleading with their favorite international artists to make their way into our borders.

Unfortunately for fans looking to catch a live performance from their favorite international act, those dreams may have to be put on hold. Rising visa costs and other tariff increases on foreign goods in the U.S. have made the dream of touring the country nearly impossible for musicians of a smaller caliber.

“I think touring the U.S. is kind of an ultimate end goal for most bands who are at our level,” said Carrier guitarist Marvon Jordaan, “I am not sure exactly how feasible it would be at this point in time.”

Carrier is a metalcore band hailing from a town called Plymouth in Southwest England. As the band gains noticeable traction on TikTok, clips of their local live performances have garnered enthusiasm from their growing fanbase. Streaming music, interacting online and purchasing merchandise are all excellent ways to support a band, but the attendance of a live performance is the pinnacle of connection between the artist and fan.

Social media platforms like TikTok have served as a springboard for lesser-known musicians, allowing people from all corners of the world to access music being made thousands of miles away. The growing support turns into excitement to catch a performance, but for the bands, giving the fans what they want comes with more challenges than they may realize.

“It can be a bit of a nightmare to book and organize shows in the U.S., unless you have got considerable support from a label or manager or booking agent who is really diligent,” Jordaan said.

According to Jordaan, each member has to take into consideration various things to budget for, including visas, passports, fare for multiple flights, travel, medical and instrument insurance, as well as van rentals, drivers, merch workers and fuel.

“When we tally that up for just a single member, it’s easily in the 1,500 pounds range just to get to the U.S., let alone then getting to multiple cities and actually touring,” Jordaan said.

In August, Live Nation Entertainment released its quarterly report detailing the second quarter of the fiscal year. In it, the concert division reported event-related deferred revenue – or money earned for concerts yet to take place – at $5.1 billion, which is up 25% in comparison to this time last year.

The previous quarterly report stated that the “demand for emerging artists remains strong, with fans at theaters and clubs up eight percent.” In a public transcription of a conference call that included Live Nation executives discussing the Q2 report, President and CEO Michael Rapino said, “The consumer demand is blowing up, as we’ve talked about, on a global basis.”

The international market portion of this refers to ticket sales within those countries. There is no readily available data that separates the specifics of revenue between global markets themselves and international artists booked for shows within the U.S.

However, if fans native to the artist’s home country are willing to spend significantly more to see their favorite acts on their own turf, it may be fair to assess that these artists’ American fans would be willing to do the same. Unfortunately, even with eager bands and talent bookers, the lack of funding for this effort could prevent this momentum from continuing at a steady pace.

Not only was there the 250% increase in visa fees for international artists enacted in April of last year, but with the Trump administration introducing new tariff increases on various goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China, other parts of the music business may also be impacted.

In the pre-streaming days of music, bands would lug stacks of CDs and boxes of merchandise to sell at each gig, and often, the sale of these albums made a substantial portion of the tour costs back for the band. For bands not yet at arena caliber, this is potentially the only way to make a profit from touring, let alone break even. Now that most people prefer to stream albums for free, bands rely solely on their merchandise to recoup their expenses while on the road.

As many merchandise companies outsource to more affordable Chinese distributors to ship clothing, then print their designs on it, the tariff increase is just another punch to the gut. A rise in cost for merchandise to get to the U.S. adds much more to this portion of a touring artist’s budget.

As more promising international acts blossom, the desire to play their music on U.S. soil now also includes a long-term plan for how to get there financially. Committing to the craft, playing shows to their established fanbase and leading with heart is the start, in Jordaan’s eyes.

“We know we have a solid local following, so we are organizing shows ourselves and using them to generate the needed finances for later in the year,” Jordaan said. He went on to say that locally, Carrier is “lucky” to have friends in bands or the booking business who cover the costs to jump on a show bill, sometimes even covering fuel costs. “For a band without these things, [they] have got to decide between playing a show and paying rent.”

With the cost of touring so high, the extra costs musicians outside the U.S. face just to play their music in the country are simply too high for some artists at this time, despite the demand from their fanbases.

“We’re doing everything on our own accord,” Jordaan said. “So, it ends up being a balance of wanting to play everywhere and having the desire to do what we love and trying not to make a loss on every single show.”