7/21: THE TOURING BUSINESS IN 2015 & THE FUTURE?
Really interesting reading some of Kerry King’s comments about the current Mayhem tour (now in the news section) which features Slayer and King Diamond as headliners. The owner of the festival had made some comments about how difficult it is to keep viable metal acts that draw on a bill while also keeping costs down. He also made some comments about metal and the fans saying some of the artists have gotten “fat and bald and scared off girls” (not like girls were ever the driving force in this genre of metal!). Kerry is one of the most unfiltered people I have ever known in this business. He simply speaks his mind and always did. The tour is clearly struggling to draw and Kerry’s latest comments were basically saying it was not booked correctly. Was really interesting to see the leader of the headlining band on a Summer package tour being this honest. This all speaks to a bigger disturbing trend I can’t quite figure out. MANY bands at all levels being booked in venues they shouldn’t be in. I don’t know if it’s a by product of too many venues, too many bands on the road, or just too many bands over touring (a huge issue I think and a by product of no money from record sales), but every day I am scratching my head about concert bills I am hearing about at all levels in venues they should not be in. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out Slayer (now half original) and King wouldn’t be a big amphitheater draw. It’s not a knock on any act, it’s just common sense. But promoters are in a tough spot. They need these festivals and branded tours to go out, but they also can’t got to the next level of talent booking because it would destroy the tickets being affordable. I get that. What I don’t get is club acts in theaters, theater acts in arenas, etc. I would much rather see a band in a setting with a vibe and packed house full of energy than an arena curtained in half or half empty. Or a show that is “papered”, the industry term for giving away a ton of tickets just to make money on beer sales and get bodies in the room. You have no idea how many shows I am asked to help “paper” all the time because they are stiffing. It’s not the artists fault for the most part. It really falls on the agents and promoters to know what they are buying and know if people will care. There is no amount of marketing anyone can do if people don’t want to see a band or have seen them too often. And although a largely papered show may give the appearance of people in the building, it is also easy to feel in the room since most are indifferent because they got in for free. It’s a catch 22 in some ways. Bands need to tour because tickets and merch are pretty much their primary income, but too many tour too much and as a result their draw has been shot. You’re seeing it at the festival level as well. There are a ton of them now, many with very similar bills. Something the organizers of Download in the UK (a huge yearly event) recently discussed as an emerging issue in the business. The idea of a festival was to be a special destination gig. Now they are everywhere. A rock themed cruise used to be unique, now there are many of all genres. It’s just massive over saturation and will impact the little guys more, because the big super acts will for the most part always be able to sell.
Which leads to the next question; what happens when the super acts are done? AC/DC, likely the last tour I would think. As it is there was no real tour, more special scattered stadium dates. Brian is 68? Aerosmith? Tyler as great as he is is 68 and now looking toward country. Sabbath, likely done as far as touring but maybe another run? Van Halen? Anything can happen and it was surprising to read in a recent Billboard article the current tour has been a bit soft in some places selling tickets (apparently ticket prices an issue here as well). Rush? Pretty much done touring. Kiss? Believe what you want but they haven’t been a headline arena act in the US since 2000. Which is why they have co-headlined sheds (and a huge difference between sheds and arenas by the way) for the most part here. Regardless they are likely near the end for what’s left of the original band. Motley? Done in a few months. And they got a huge pop playing the Farewell card and wisely had a name legend opening all the dates. Priest? Said they were done, pulled a reverse, and are hanging in a bit more. But they have not been a full arena headline in a long time here. Maiden? Maybe the biggest global metal act along with Metallica. New album coming and dates in 2016, but these guys are not getting younger and Bruce already had a major health scare and we don’t know yet how he will recover from it. Bon Jovi? Like them or not a massive global stadium act even with just 3 original members. How much more does Jon want to work in his early 50s and with other interests? Where are the next true headliners?
Metallica is erratic as far as how much they play and making new music. But that actually may work to their favor since they far from over tour. You have to hope bands like A7X, FFDP, etc, continue to grow. Foo Fighters are clearly the biggest rock act out there right now and cross over to many genres appealing to rock and metal fans. But outside of Foos, and what Metallica has left in the tank, we really need to hope some of these emerging guys warming up in the bullpen can graduate to the big big leagues. Which leads to an even bigger question. Is that even possible now the way the music is and the way it’s consumed? For a while it was trying to sell downloads. Now that seems to be abandon in favor of just hoping people LISTEN to the music. That’s what streaming is. Don’t even own it, give us nothing, just listen to it! So music has become so devalued today that I wonder if that translates and stagnates an artists potential to even become huge again? This is all just out loud thinking and I welcome your comments and thoughts here. But one thing that does bother me (besides the lack of regard for physical ownership of music) is seeing artists booked in venues they have no business being in, and people saying; “look, I told you rock was dead”. Nobody’s rooting for this stuff more than me. But we have to hope there is a new generation to carry the flag and people embrace new artists they are hearing that they like so the next generation of rock and metal fans has something to celebrate. We are at the tail end of what’s left of the golden era of rock and metal from the 70’s and the 80’s. As for 90’s guys? Foos rule that pack and Pearl Jam are certainly alive and more than well. Soundgarden still viable, but not that consistent as far as playing. AIC? Same deal. Pumpkins and Manson? Currently co headlining sheds. Foos and Pearl Jam the biggest from that era. So where are we at 10 years from now? I wonder and curious what you guys think? Let’s hope there is a kid in his garage somewhere right now with a guitar that has the answer..
 which features Slayer and King Diamond as headliners. The owner of the festival had ... )
Great article Ed, still funny though,in your never ending quest to rag on KISS and suck up to Tyler, you forget, Aerosmith hasn’t toured in years with taking another name out there with them. It’s the nature of the business, not a product of members of the band. And,sheds hold more than than most arenas set up in an End Stage configuration. I think it’s the same exact sheds that Rush, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith and VH are playing.
Suck up to Tyler? I met him twice in my life. And yes Aerosmith attendance has been up and down over the last 15 years as well. As for “rag on Kiss”, it seems just stating fact can be viewed as that to some.
I think the point to make is alot of current era of kiss fans think kiss is still some huge draw because when they go to see them the arena is almost full. Then they come on the internet and say how kiss sells out everywhere just like they did with Ace and Peter.
I realize kiss w/ ace and peter was selling less towards 99-00 but they also toured waaay too much thanks to the idiot stanley !
I know myself and alot of others would still be loyal to kiss and see them live to this day if they retired/changed the makeup
2) ticket prices for good seats at concerts are waaay too much. meanwhile peoples wages have stayed the same
Still Kiss on their Farewell Tour with A & P played, e.g., Dodger Stadium, no double bill, the stage twice as wide as on their current European tour. Today they need Def Leppard to sell out a shed holding less than half of the stadium.
eddie,just listened to your podcast w alex lifeson,song headlong flight is from 2012,not the 90s.alex gave me some hope,with maybe a week in ny,for shows?????keepn my fingers crossed eddie
Couple things: some of this is just the same old stuff my Dad used to say to me (He used to call Ozzy “Ozzy Osboob”, while he listened to “real artists” like Johnny Cash and Elvis. He conceded the Beatles and the Stones, but that is about it). I’m sure some of those artists are good, but they just do nothing for me. But my kid went to see Fall Out Boy and Wiz Kalifa and, despite the contact high I’m sure she got, she had a great time. I know for me, a lot of shows just aren’t “fun” anymore.
Two, the bitching about ticket prices: ticket prices are actually UNDERVALUED. There would be no scalping market if they were over-priced. It’s simple economics. One problem, though, is that there isn’t enough differentiation between price tiers. it makes no sense to have the first row and last row in a section be the same price. Or all floor seats (unless it is GA). So any ONE ticket might be overpriced, but as long as there are tickets being sold on Stubhub et al for a premium over face value, they are by definition not overpriced.
And not to turn this into a Kerry King bash session, but this dawned on me after my last post: if he’s so smart and so “honest”, why’d he sign the contract? He didn’t know who else was on the bill? He, as headliner, couldn’t say “I want to see the list before I ink this deal”?
I think everything Eddie said in his last comment about rock being dead is right on the mark: it’s simple oversaturation.
Eddie
The industry isn’t interested too much in investing their money in rock as you know .
I buy a UK magazine every month called “classic rock magazine” just to get the cd sampler on the front of the magazine .
Great bands on there from around the world . Including the states . Alot are local bands from their home towns with no major label. I dont know how they get on the cd but…. Then I try to track them down on sites like bandcamp .
I haven’t heard the next sabbath, priest, or aerosmith but with some help from the industry these bands could maybe have the next master of reality ,back in black etc in them . Instead nobody signs them ( not because they aren’t good) and they just fizzle out
The industry needs to get them out there for the public to hear .
I have nothing against Foo’s and Nickleback but, to me they just sound like a industry produced pop rock band.
Here is an angle that no one is talking about. Sports are dealing with the same thing for some of the same reasons.
Last year I watched the Bengals play the Dolphins in Miami in front of a half empty stadium. I watched on TV the Thunder play the 76ers and the upper decks were empty.
Prices are part of it. In concerts as well as sports the law of supply and demand has seemed to be forgotten in order to grab as much cash as possible. But video plays a big part as well.
There have always been concerts on TV. But now the selection is incredible thanks to Youtube, Palladia, Qello and other outlets. Throw in that in a lot of cases the audio and video is fantastic on a home system. And there is no parking headaches, $8.00 beers, dealing with drunks and waiting in line for the bathroom.
Def Leppard is an excellent case study. Saw them on tour last year. But why spend the money again when the set list isn’t going to change much, money is tight and I’ve got a copy of Viva Hysteria I can put in the blue ray and crank the surround sound. Just the same as I’d love to go to every Thunder home game, but that isn’t feasible. So I pick and choose a few games and catch the rest on TV.
Is it the same? Of course not. I always prefer being at the venue for a concert or sporting event when possible. But add costs, job and parental responsibilities and option of being able to find a great video of any recent tour it certainly makes it easier to be selective about what entertainment options I’m willing to invest in.