7/26: THE CONCERT BIZ TODAY
Concerts out there are hurting. Sure no artist is ever going to tell you this, but it is the truth. I get the calls everyday from promoters and agents looking for help selling shows big, medium and small. It’s a real issue out there right now. You may even go to a show and think it’s full, but in reality it’s not. That’s called “papering the house”, meaning giving tickets away in mass amounts just to have people in the room to make it look good, sell a T shirt or a beer. Now many have said sales are rough because “rock is dead”. However I do not believe that to be the case. In my view two words sums up the live music industry right now; OVER SATURATION. Simply put, bands are over touring to make up for the fact that almost nobody is making money on album sales. Used to be you toured to sell the album, which is where the money was made. Now it’s reverse. The album is almost the giveaway to promote a tour. But WAY too many bands are out there WAY too long, some hitting major markets three times in a year. I get they need to make money and don’t fault them, but it makes it less special when you can see a favorite band twice a year VS once every two. People simply can’t afford to pay to see all these shows and see a band so many times. As a result everyone is being more selective, and you are seeing more and more bands downsize venues, but still staying on the road. I also think peoples attention is in way too many places to make all these shows a priority. You can see in a second set lists online, audio, video, the mystique is gone. Of course the mega bands will always do okay, but don’t be fooled, the business is not what you think it is or what they project even for them. The days of a 50 city non stop US tour are rare. Bands find special events or festivals or co-headline because they can’t draw enough as a headline in arenas on their own, and those that can are charging way too much. Not sure where the solution lies but it’s something I see and hear about often. I truly do not think rock is dead, but I do think the touring world and peoples attention are so overwhelmed right now with too many options its hard to know what’s going on? Hope it works itself out because the live stage is where this music is best served, but it is an issue I hear about all the time behind the scenes. Look forward to reading your thoughts.
i actually get to more shows now than I have in years. i get to see Overkill almost once a year, and i’ll go no matter what or how many times they pass thru. many shows in my area are casino shows, and are free, w/ meet n greets afterwards, and I in turn give back by getting merch, having brews and bringing lotsa friends. I think like (Eddie always says) there’s not enough awareness. It’s so easy to find shows, but you do have to dig a bit. In many tiny venues I’ve seen the likes of Y&T, Faster Pussycat, Slaughter, Nelson, Lita , Firehouse, Warrant, Skids, etc it goes on and on, and again most are free! Plenty of affordable gigs out there gang, just gotta search better. My take on it is this: Arena wise-TOO many surcharges, parking fees are absurd, too much $$ 4 beer etc., & filthy, crowded toilets and not enuff of ’em. Also, many places no longer offer a box office, so you must use the middle men…bad news. Also strict staffing, being over-policed is a big turn off, we’re not all losers and jerks. Club wise-Great, but many can be hidden, try searching via band’s names, or zip codes. I hate bootlegs & phone crap, and homemade Youtube rubbish, so that doesn’t affect me.
Lets face it there just isn’t a big enough demand for most of these bands at this time. As for the ticket costs I understand why most people cant afford them but you must remember the high costs for the touring bands such as traveling expenses and hotels etc. If a band plays a small club at 25 per ticket and only attracts 200 or so patrons they cant make enough money for it to be worth it.
There used to be quite a few good shows at Irving Plaza here in NYC but even that has started to dry up in recent years. Bands like Motley will always have a huge following but even a band like Ratt who was huge in the 80s struggles to attract big enough crowds to make touring extensively worth it.
iron maiden will only play a 2 hour show,period.not 1 minute longer??they have a huge catalog of songs.old ones too.they have 6 band members.rush has three band members,no opener,n they take a 20 minute break in between sets.show is about 2 hours 40 minutes.still don’t know why 3 guys play longer then 6????any guess???/rush will give you your moneys worth.mr.dickenson,n rod smallwood,how about no opening at,n maybe play 40 minutes or heck 30 minutes more.you have the songs,you charge the money,uh,now play them,cause I love them,children of the damned,journeyman,prowler,transylvania,wrathchild,stranger in a strange land,flight of Icarus,the clansmansign of the cross????2 hours is not a show,2 hours and 40 minutes,is,ask neil peart,geddy,n alex,they will show you how do do it.
I would love Maiden to do a 3 hour show, but do you think hitting the notes that Bruce has to hit can be done for more than that? Tell me if I am wrong!
I think more than 2 hours from ANY band live is too much
ET, you bring up an important point: Over-saturation. Too many bands, too many shows, and it all costs too much money. The big-name bands/tours suck up a lot of disposable income; they charge way too much for a ticket, and even more for t-shirts and other swag. Certainly, some of this goes to subsidize the enormous cost of touring, and the promoters have to make a buck too, but it’s all way over the top. Furthermore, just traveling to a venue (gas, parking) is ridiculous, and if a fan wants to have a couple beers or a bite to eat, and snag a t-shirt, a nite at a arena or theater show put on by a big promoter like LiveNation or AEG is going to run $100-200 minimum! The average fan can’t really afford this. So, they stay home and wail on the X-Box or Playstation – or watch cable/ satellite TV, which itself is sky-high, cost-wise. Factor in the fact that an average person’s income, in the current economy, is declining over time, and we have ourselves a hell of quandary. I know that even I go out a hell of a lot less often, and that’s even with getting comped by acts and promoters when I am out doing interviews for Reality Check TV. Just having a few beers at the bar, and travel costs clean me out. It’s insane!
Solutions are hard to determine, given the “catch-22” nature of this scenario. Without revenue on the recorded music side, and no label support on the road, that makes it tough for artists. Ultimately the fans are getting squeezed. Seems like a classic “no-win” scenario. Wish there was a way to reconstitute the record industry – only without the harsh contracts that labels used to make bands sign. I am interested to hear any good ideas to create a practical business model where everyone benefits, including the fans.
Some artists just over tour, some actually play less. As a result money goes up since the gigs are more special. Less work for them, same or more money. Twisted Sister an example of this strategy working
Good point, but the counter on Twisted is they don’t do “tours”. they play select dates at Festivals, and the occasional special event at a smaller venue. Furthermore, they mainly do European dates. They play around 15 or 20 shows per year, so there’s not a burnout factor – for them, as well as the fans. The downside there is no new material, which is too bad. I’d like to hear new Twisted music.
tiFrom the mid 80’s to the late 90’s I attended hundreds of shows from Ratt to Soundgarden and the main reason I don’t attend that many shows now is point blank because of the ticket prices. For an arena show and some smaller venues, two tickets can easily run over $200 and it’s just too expensive to see a lot of shows now