Metallica And Linkin Park Each Lost $5 Million After Sick New World Cancelation

The cancelation of Sick New World cost Metallica and Linkin Park $5 million each.

Live Nation canceled the 2025 Sick New World festival, planned for April 12 in Las Vegas. The event, which would have featured Metallica and a reunited Linkin Park, faced too many issues.

The festival, known for its large lineups of 50+ rock acts, struggled after creator Jeffrey Shuman left earlier this year. Even with new management and a smaller lineup, financial problems remained unsolved.

Reports say Metallica and Linkin Park were each set to earn $5 million, which meant the festival needed almost all of its tickets sold. However, only 20,000 out of the 60,000 tickets were sold, far from enough to cover costs.

General admission tickets started at $472, and VIP packages reached $1,873, which made it too expensive for many fans. Though the festival focused on heavy rock, some fans felt the inclusion of alternative bands like AFI, The Flaming Lips, and 311 was a shift from the festival’s original appeal.

“Despite our best efforts, we’ve encountered unforeseen circumstances that we are unable to overcome for next year’s show,” Live Nation said in their statement. “We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the dedicated SNW fans who had made plans to join us for another cultural celebration of hard rock, goth, alternative, and heavy music.”

“All I hear from promoters is how bands guarantees are sky high and going up every year. Which in turn is passed on to you the ticket buyer in pricing of tickets. Factor in more shows than ever on the road and unfortunately you are going to see more of this I fear,” Eddie Trunk also said of the festival.

Queens of the Stone Age, Evanescence, Ministry, Gojira, 311, Daron Malakian’s Scars on Broadway, Three Days Grace, Down, Mudvayne, Machine Head, Arch Enemy, and many more were also scheduled to perform.

Sick New World debuted in 2023 with System of a Down as the headliner and returned this past April with a large, sold-out crowd. The band headlined again, along with many other bands performing on five stages.