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.
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Personally I could give a $hit about bands making ” thier” money. I hope someday I will be able to go to the corner bar to see these , in their mind, larger than life bands and get in for a few bucks. Right now there are hundreds of great rock/ metal bands out there touring that will blow you away at the local venue every week for hardly no money to get in. I think people want to live in the past and want what they had in the past. Move on people. Who cares about these regurgitated, re done, bands of the past. Their time has come and is now gone. Support newer bands like, Warbringer, Lazarus A.D, Texas Hippe Coalition, Ramming Speed, Hatchet, Valient Thorr, Goatwhore,, Newsted, etc, I could list 100 more. If you don’t know these bands you are living in the past and you need to move on. Screw the whole industry for bilking us out of our hard earned money and stop expecting what has happened in the past with the concert biz. What about these bands of the past bilking us for there “farewell” tours? And the hair band issue, the genre was weak and fake and now 25 years later no one cares but a few mullet heads.
I hate to be the lone voice of dissent here, but I truly believe Rock IS Dead. It pretty much has been since 1991 when Nirvana blew up, but the final nail in the coffin was the internet, downloading, and the general apathy from the younger demographic to basic rock and roll music. The youth of today are more interested in other genres, particularly Electronic Dance Music (EDM). If you google EDM , you will see that this genre fills the same stadiums, arenas, and amphitheaters that our beloved Hard ROck/AOR bands used to fill. It’s a stark reality and nothing is going to change this.
I saw Texas Hippie Coalition in New York recently, and they were excellent. Even though they played for a small crowd, they seemed to be having a great time on stage and bringing Southern style powered metal to the NYC fans. Lets hope they become as big as ACDC one day. A no nonsense down and dirty band that really plays for the audience. It was all about the sex, drugs, and rock n roll with this band. Lets hope more people find out about Texas Hippie Coalition and give them the proper support that they need. Maybe ACDC, Kiss, or some other major band can take THC out with them on the road and help THC become more popular!
You said it Ed – ditto to all of the comments. I’m sick of being GOUGED to go to a concert from the ticket price, the service fees, the parking, merchandise, beer, soda, etc. Yeah back in the day I went to 30 – 40 concerts a year and it was cheap. Bands/managers/promoters must be out of their minds to think I’m gonna pay $$$ to see some band who’s best days are far behind them. Why pay $100+ to see some band that’ll never be as good as they were back in the 70s,80s, or 90s. You really think KISS, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Ratt, VH, Scorps, BS, etc. are as good today as they were back then? Yeah right. Also I don’t think oversaturation is a problem – I remember when Aerosmith got back together in 84-85 – they played the Chicago/Milwaukee/Madison area every 7 or 8 months for three or four years – and I went to every show – but it only cost probably $10-$15.
BTW saw VH and Ratt last week in Oshkosh WI for $183 for 30th row. Great show – Eddie’s as good as ever but better than when I saw him in 78,79 etc. Worth the price – Nah!! And there were a lot A LOT of empty reserved seats.
Anybody else I’d almost rather watch a concert from the 70s or 80s on YT or DVD.
But again – there’s nothing NOTHING like live metal and rock and roll. Everything else is just a game.
Eddie, your audience has definitely nailed it. I grew up in Lamours in Brooklyn during the magical 80’s and was fortunate to see most of the powerhouse bands in their prime for practically no money.
The scene was a bit different, and it was electrifying to see bands on their way up, before they were granted the big time at Madison Square Garden. I always preferred to see bands on the smaller stage for obvious reasons. The reason I’m writing is because I always exposed my son to heavy doses of guitar driven music. I’m proud that his Iphone is full of Maiden, Accept, Priest, Zep, etc. But pricing is definitely out of control for most of the shows I would like to see with him. I would have loved to share VH with him, but not for $300. It just doesn’t make any sense. Those concert experiences are just priceless memories for me, and all you would like to do is to pass the torch to the next generation. Keep doing what you do Eddie, thanks for everything.