Adele tickets: Check out the US cities she will visit

The British singer has announced the itinerary for her upcoming North American tour, which will kick off this summer. What part does touring play for successful artists in the current music industry?

Adele has announced the stops for her highly anticipated 2016 tour. 

The North American tour will kick off this July in St. Paul, Minn. and then will proceed to Chicago, Denver, and Vancouver. Later, Adele will travel to Seattle, San Jose, Oakland, and Los Angeles before heading to Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York, among other stops. It will conclude with stops in areas including Washington, D.C., Nashville, and Dallas. 

The singer is the star of the music world after a record-breaking sales run for her newest album, “25,” which was released last month. It follows the massive success of her 2011 album, “21.” 

What place do tours have in the current music business? The music industry is still adapting to the aftermath of Napster and other music downloading services, as well as more current innovations like streaming services. How artists are reimbursed for their music and how much they earn is still an ongoing conversation.

As a part of that, tours have become more and more important. "The records are taking a back seat to all the touring," Apple executive Jimmy Iovine said of artists in an interview.

Merchandising can be an important part of this, as well. Billboard estimates that $17 of merchandise was bought by each person at Taylor Swift’s concerts in 2014, which can add up in a major way. 

Outside of tours, endorsements also often play a financial part for some of the industry’s biggest names, such as Beyoncé and Rihanna. 

Other music industry experts say concert profitability in general is on the upswing. For example, concert promoter Live Nation stated that its revenues for this year’s third quarter were the biggest the company had ever had.

“When you spend your life tethered to something electronic, the only thing that takes you out of that is community, and live music is the basis of community,” Rob Light, managing partner of Creative Artists Agency, said of the current success of concerts. “Social media and digital allows you to enhance that community experience. As a worldwide culture, people want to share that, and I really believe live music becomes a little more important because of that.”