Why do big bands tease their tour announcements? 

In the past week or so, we've had both Tool and Iron Maiden tell us that they're coming to Australia, but that we'd have to wait for more details. 

It's probably a marketing tactic, an attempt to grab a few more headlines, elongate the promo process, increase the chance of people hearing about the tours. 

On first thoughts, that seems cynical. But it's easy to approach such methods with negativity. 

If you're a more positive person, you can put it all down to the tour promoter wanting people to get as enthused as humanly possible. The drip-feed just stretches out our excitement. 

Some artists work very differently. In 2016, Prince announced an Australian tour just 11 days before it started. That was thrilling as well. But it left little time to find money to afford a ticket. 

Like all these things, there'll be a breaking point. A band who just isn't big enough or exciting enough will try and replicate what Tool and Maiden have done so successfully and they'll be shouted down. 

As far as I'm concerned, anything that gets people excited about going to see music is fair game. No matter how odd, pointless or frustrating it might seem.