Back in the 60's and 70's when Bill Graham was the "Don Corleone" of the concert promotion business, it was survival of the fittest. At the beginning of his career, after cutting his then partner Chet Helms out of a deal with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Helms stormed into Graham's office to ask the reason behind his decision. Graham then pointing out to Helms that he would not have known about it unless he had tried to do the same thing to Graham, advised him to "get up earlier in the morning" in the future. For many years after, the early bird caught the worm. Fast-forward now thirty plus years later, and it seems as though everyone in the concert industry is waking up early, eager to get an edge on the competition.
The concert industry has evolved quite a bit from the early "mob-rule" mentality that once ran through the veins of promoters. The business has always been quite territorial, yet over the years we have seen the industry undergo vast changes through the process of consolidation. With the two financial monsters of Live Nation and AEG now dominating the industry, how much have we actually seen change?
I have always had a strong passion for live music. When my father took me to my first concert, I was a young, aspiring guitar player who could not stop listening to The Who's Live At Leeds album. I remember after the final notes rang out at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again," I looked around at a screaming crowd packed into Madison Square Garden. Through the rows of baby boomers and clouds of pot smoke, I saw thousands upon thousands of people who, just like myself, probably listen to Live At Leeds or any of the other great Who albums non-stop every day. I had been so entranced by the band performing just feet away from me that I hadn't even noticed the other great spectacle that night. Never in my life had I seen close to 20,000 people all in one room, singing along to the same song, smiling, dancing, and elated. The atmosphere is what drew me in more than anything else. As the lights came on in the arena, my father leaned down towards me and asked, "now what would you give to be Pete Townshend right now up on that stage?" I looked back at him and smiled, "there's only one Pete Townshend, but who's the person responsible for getting the band on that stage and filling all of these seats?"
Music had always been a large part of my life. But that evening, that concert, that venue, that band, and that crowd changed my entire outlook on music. There was something so much more to music than I had realized. Ever since then I have devoted much of my time to learning about how the concert industry operates. I wanted to know everything. How it started, how it evolved, who was responsible for all of this, and most importantly where is the industry going from here. No longer were my idols Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen, or Jeff Beck. The only names that mattered to me were Bill Graham, Don Law, Ron Delsener, or Frank Barsalona. Guys like Arthur Fogel and Michael Cohl, or any of the other great promoters.