London is a City of Music. Why aren't more big-name artists playing here?

It's a frustration London music fans know all too well: an artist announces a U.S. and Canada tour, but the only Ontario stop is Toronto.

Despite London's UNESCO City of Music title, many major music artists skip the Forest City while on the road, a decision that often comes down to data and logistics rather than any feelings toward the city, one talent agent says. Yet, some working in London's music industry say the success rate of past concerts and draw from across southwestern Ontario makes it a worthwhile stop.

"It's a lot of strategy that has to do with where the artist's career can grow best," said Jason Soulliere, a talent buyer and agent at the Feldman Agency in Toronto, which books tours for artists including the Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne and Shania Twain.

"We decide, 'What is the best place we can go to maximize both profit and visibility for the artist within a limited time frame?'" he explained on CBC's London Morning.

Whether or not a show in London, or any city, is booked comes down to three factors, Soulliere said: market data like streaming numbers and social media followers, tour scheduling and proximity to other potential tour stops.

It's the final factor that often rules against London, Soulliere said, due to its distance to Toronto.

"You don't want to play five markets within half an hour of each other. You're just going to split your draw all over the place," Soulliere said.

While many Canadian artists will stop in London on cross-Canada tours, popular international artists frequently skip it, opting for Toronto as their only concert in Ontario.

Soulliere said this is sometimes a Toronto venue promoter's decision, putting a rule called a "radius clause" on the show so that artists are not allowed to play another nearby city. However, it can also be the artist's decision, especially when they know London fans will travel two hours out of town regardless.

"Unfortunately, London's great market just isn't as large as Toronto or Montreal," he said.

London does have some unique advantages that Canada Life Place general manager Kelly Austin said makes it a worthwhile stop for musicians.

"The entire southwestern Ontario community has been incredibly supportive of this venue," she said, adding that people in Chatham, Windsor and Bruce County travel to London to see major concerts.

Over the years, London has brought in its fair share of big-name artists like Metallica and Prince who played at Canada Life Place (then, the John Labbatt Centre) and Nickelback who played the annual Rock the Park festival last year.

"Some of the artists have become friends over the years because we treat them so well when they come to London, and they want to come back or they tell other artists," said Jones Entertainment Group (JEG) president Brad Jones, who organizes Rock the Park and the upcoming Rock the Runway festival.

He said relationship building is a key strategy to bring major artists to London, adding that JEG successfully booked Noah Kahan for Rock the Runway after building a relationship with his agent, whose other client Tyler Childers played Rock the Park last year.

The other logistical factor keeping artists out of London, Austin and Jones admit, is that the city's venue capacities are too small for some artist's goals and fees.

The Rogers Centre in Toronto can host 55,000 fans, whereas Canada Life Place can hold about 10,000 people and Rock the Park has a capacity of 12,500.

"That capacity is just not something we can compete with," Austin said.

Still, Soulliere said it's possible for more large-scale concerts to come to London, so long as there is the right infrastructure in place to make it worthwhile for artists.

"It really comes down to having people in the market who want to invest in that type of business," he said. "Like any business, to succeed you need people to invest in it and you need people to support it."

Austin has a pitch for more artists to make a stop in London: "You can look at the past history of artists who have had success here, and we've had artists who have played the London Music Hall and now come play Canada Life Place," she said.

"Artists can really grow a fan base in the city … I think anyone who's come here and played has had a great time."