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.
it’s a blessing and a curse living in Iowa. The curse is that we generally don’t get a lot of selection for bands coming around here, the blessing is that when they do we can usually get a pretty good spot. Gone are the days that AC/DC, Aerosmith and the BIG bands come to town to rock. I try to make 4-5 shows a year but cost is the big thing. I refuse to go to a show and watch the video monitor , I’d rather watch the DVD. So I will pay the more expensive rate to get up close. This year I have seen Slash , Tesla with Motley Crue and I’ll see Ratt, Sebastian Bach, Dokken & Lita Ford in a couple of weeks. I have the option of Shinedown & Papa Roach but we will see. Again the major issues with some bands is the set lists. You know you are always gonna get the hits whether you like it or not. I’d love to see Def Leppard where they didn’t play a song off Pyromania or Hysteria. I would really enjoy that set. Anyway rock on Eddie
my first show was ’78 angel/nugent cost of tickets $10 I have seen several bands in their prime some with the original line ups-pete willis(def lep) ufo(ms),maiden(dianno) sucky ozzy(rhandy rhoades)rainbow,riot,,journey(rollie),and a few more bands however as I got older and ticket prices increased I took a break from bands I wanted to see,i am a huge *TOOL fan and have seen them in a small 2,000/1,000 grocery store turned into a concert hall.my point is I wait to see who I really want too,i just saw *CREED for the first time,i finally saw *Maiden after 20 plus years(beast tour was the last time I saw them live) the scorpions opened up.we paid close to $300 for two tickets to see *Van Freakin Halen and it was well worth the price.bnads I will pay to see bands I want to see but bands I like I keep separate,there are many bands I wouldn’t pay to see.i haven’t see rush since permant waves and have no desire to see them.the priest is the same way,rob zombie I saw with white zombie no desire to see him,nin,manson,i haven’t seen kiss since the dynasty tour. I tend to wait it out besides some albums plain suck or pop rock radio friendly end the end its all PR WORK.
All these bands without their lead singers of old just blow…rip-off, then you get Axl or Sebastian out there with garbage compared to old. Tommy Thayer pretending to be Ace. Black Sabbath papers the house. 4 acts on a bill (or more) translates: we are broke, we need money.
I honestly believe this whole fiasco started with “The Eagles” when they first reunited, they were charging the highest ever on a ticket 200-300 , that was unheard of at the time, Other artists followed believing if the Eagles charged that much and still sell so should we. The trend has continued in today,
Chris, you are totally right. They were the first band to have a $100 face value ticket. I saw the Stones around that same time (Voodoo Lounge Tour) and paid $40 for a pretty good seat. Today that same seat would be about $400…unreal.
Spot on Ed, of course I know a few BS geeks are gonna lose their minds over talk of the Sabbath tour being papered all to hell.