Month: september

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Even though the economy in the United States is not at its best, amphitheaters did quite well in the first half of the summer in 2008. Both attendance and gross per show went up when compared to the year before. While the artists that were on tour this summer at these outdoors venues helped with the success of the season, there were also other contributing factors that added strength to the mix. The over all business of running and booking an amphitheater is now operating more efficiently and because of this the number of people attending has risen and operational costs are down. Marketing by way of the Internet has shown to be a promising way to cut costs in advertising, while also enabling these venues to reach a larger audience. Another positive asset that amphitheaters have is that two-thirds of the venue is usually sold as general admission because of the lawn space that they have to offer. This offers concert goers more favorable ticket prices, and when tickets for that area are presented in a ticket package format the venues have noticed that they receive a great response from its buyers. Even though the past few years have showed a downward trend in amphitheater business, the work that has been put in to turn things around is showing and paying off. Even though fans are faced with hard economic times and higher ticket prices, this summer was evidence that live music is important to many people and that they are willing to skip on other luxury items to be able to attend outdoor music events.

Month: September

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The touring industry had a great first half to 2008, and in order to close out the year on a high note the managers of arenas are focusing on seven major points. 1.) The Economy. Venues have to be sensitive to consumers with high gas prices, unemployment, mortgages, etc. Price for fuel for the buses and trucks will hurt profitability, especially for midlevel acts that might be forced to pull back and not work as much. 2.) Ticket Prices. Venues are walking a fine line between maximizing ticket prices and alienating ticket buyers. Major shows that charge aggressive prices are causing fans to choose between one or two major shows and passing on the midlevel artist. Secondary markets are also suffering from high prices and scalping. 3.) Ticketing and Technology. With technology changing at such a fast rate, it is tough for venues to keep up with what to invest in and what different artists, agencies, fans, promoters, etc. want. 4.) The Fan Experience. Venues are trying to do anything they can to make the consumer feel as if they're getting their money's worth, or else they will do something else. The fan experience is about value. 5.) Artist Development. As the core group of artists that have sustained the live music industry for the past 30 years or so leaves the road, many feel that few current artists are stepping in to fill the coming void. Since less artists can fill 20,000 seat venues, people are turning more to theaters. Since record companies are having less of a role of breaking artists, the touring business is having to pick up the slack so promoters, agents, and venues need to rethink their roles to be more proactive about solving this issue. 6.) Competition. Overdeveloped markets are having trouble with more competition in other forms of entertainment than ever before. The challenge is balancing the budget of higher costs when higher competition causes smaller increases in revenue. 7.) The Big Picture. Buildings are at the mercy of the overall touring business. The marketplace is filled with blurred lines and undefined roles for the players, with no one knowing who is truly in control of the big decisions. The industry needs to be more flexible in moving towards a common goal based on a foundation of successful, long-lasting relationships.

Month: August

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A ban on foreign rock acts is putting a damper on the live music market in China. Ever since Wham! played in 1985, China's market for live music has been emerging for more foreign rock acts. But in March, Bjork played a set where she closed with a chant of "Tibet! Tibet!" onstage. This prompted authorities to not allow foreign rock acts to play until after the Beijing Olympics this summer. Tours by Avril Lavigne and Good Charlotte have had their dates postponed and this year's Beijing Pop Festival is canceled. Bjork's performance convinced the government that rock stars can easily damage the country's image during the run-up to the Olympic games. This comes at a time when the country's appetite for Western pop culture is growing, Live Nation and AEG Live have set up offices there in the past few years, Ticketmaster acquired an entertainment company, and more rock acts are looking to tour China. Putting on shows in China has always been a challenge. The months-long process begins with a promoter gathering information on an artist including song lyrics, biography, and probable set list. The information is sent to the Ministry of Culture, the agency that licenses events. The government wants to maintain control over the talent that is promoted in its country, but does not want to seem as prohibiting it. It is also expensive to set up shows, as stages typically need to be built, sound checks run for hours, and bands typically need to ship in their own equipment. Ticket prices also must remain low as citizens of China live on extremely low wages. Artists are told to not be political and not swear onstage.

Month: June

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Tom Windish formed the Windish Agency in 2004 because he wanted the freedom to pursue and sign acts that he was interested in. His company now books acts like Aphex Twin, Chromeo, Hot Chip, Justice, Jose Gonzalez, and Low. The reputation he has built involves his ability to find artists that are under the radar. Windish does not view challenges such as playing to commercial radio or MTV as a problem. As a matter of fact, he does not see them as a necessity to underground indie acts. He believes booking his acts at interesting venues is a great way to get them noticed. Ballrooms and art museums may be tough to book for sound and technical reasons, but it gives fans a chance to see art and a new musician at the same time in a new, exciting setting.

Month: June

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Two of the biggest names in hip-hop, as well as music, went on high-concept tours early this summer and each have turned hip-hop into a blockbuster touring business. Jay-Z's tour with Mary J. Blige ended in early May and grossed over $23 million. Kanye's tour finished up in mid-June and is expected to make over $21 million. These tours are seen as hip-hop "maturing" and giving growth to the business of this genre of music. The only hip-hop tour to make close to this amount of money before was Eminem and 50-Cent in 2005 that made $21.6 million. Between then, many hip-hop artists, like T.I. and the Game, have sold millions of records, but failed to hit it big on the road. West and Jay-Z have helped change that by moving away from small productions to large bands, big productions with pyrotechnics and video, an teaming up with R&B artists for a broader fan inclusion.

Month: June

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MySpace Music Secret Shows are a huge hit from the social network giant, which just held their 150th show with Gnarls Barkley in New York. MySpace's large network of users allows them to pull a crowd to shows in virtually any city just 48 hours before show will take place. This is the site's longest running and most successful music program, where they put on free shows with big bands at small, intimate venues. The way one finds out about the shows is that users will sign up as a "friend" of the Secret Shows profile page and will receive a bulletin message saying tomorrow night a band will be playing in a particular city and venue, first come, first served. The idea is that a fan will be willing to go down to the venue and wait in line for however long possible in order to see their band play in an intimate setting. Corporate sponsors for the event include Chilis and Samsung Mobile, but MySpace is continuing to look for more partners. The bands play the show for free in exchange for promotion on MySpace Music, and any costs are paid for by their label as a part of marketing and promotion expenses. MySpace enjoys being able to translate from a online, computer-based experience to something in the real world for users and fans to be involved with.

Month: November

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An examination of how rock continues to dominate the touring concert industry in comparison with all other genres.