guwapo_rocker
10-12-2004, 04:05 PM
Poor concert season blamed on high prices
Costly show tickets, slump in CD sales seen as part of problem.
Gloria Estefan poses during a news conference to announce her 2004-2005 tour last June. A number of the concerts were canceled.
Associated Press File Photo
Simon & Garfunkel charged up to $350 for tickets.
Ap File Photo
By Ethan Smith
The Wall Street Journal
Taking stock after one of the worst summer-concert seasons in memory, the music business is coming to a near-unanimous conclusion: Ticket prices are unrealistically high and must be brought under control before next year.
Summer 2004 was a nightmare for more than one superstar. Norah Jones's ticket sales were so poor in some markets that the singer had to move five concerts out of arenas and amphitheaters, which typically hold 15,000 to 20,000 people, and into venues holding around 4,000. The Lollapalooza tour was canceled. Gloria Estefan's representatives canceled a handful of shows to help concert promoters cut their losses; a person close to the singer conceded that the tour had been a disaster.
Trade publications that track concerts won't tally summer grosses until January, when they add up full-year results, but anecdotal evidence points to one of the slowest summers ever. The June-to-September period is crucial for the touring business, providing as much as 70 percent of annual revenue for companies with a lot of open-air venues. Many concert promoters say revenue was off as much as 40 percent compared with 2003.
Agents and promoters are trying to diagnose the problem, even as they cast about for cures. Tickets for Madonna and Simon & Garfunkel costing $350 got a lot of attention this year. But more dangerous, industry people say, is the $70-to-$80 ticket for a mediocre seat at a concert by Van Halen , Cher or some other sub-megastar. "There is a definite scrutiny," says agent Jonny Podell, whose clients include Van Halen , the Allman Brothers and Cyndi Lauper.
Concert promoters say they have had no choice but to jack up ticket prices because artists and their representatives demand so much money up front for appearances. Agents, meanwhile, say they can hardly be blamed for accepting the ever-higher bids promoters make for their services.
Musicians, too, are partly at fault, and even some agents admit it. "At the end of the day it is greed" driving up artists' asking prices, says Mark Geiger, an agent at the William Morris Agency.
Plummeting CD sales are a factor, too. Groups who have seen their royalty checks evaporate, are much more dependent on concert income — and, not surprisingly, much more willing to tour. "The public is pushing back," says Mr. Hodges. "(They're) saying, 'If I've seen the band already in the past 12 to 18 months, I might not go back to see them again, even if they're my favorites.'"
http://springfield.news-leader.com/business/today/1012-Poorconcer-199065.html
Costly show tickets, slump in CD sales seen as part of problem.
Gloria Estefan poses during a news conference to announce her 2004-2005 tour last June. A number of the concerts were canceled.
Associated Press File Photo
Simon & Garfunkel charged up to $350 for tickets.
Ap File Photo
By Ethan Smith
The Wall Street Journal
Taking stock after one of the worst summer-concert seasons in memory, the music business is coming to a near-unanimous conclusion: Ticket prices are unrealistically high and must be brought under control before next year.
Summer 2004 was a nightmare for more than one superstar. Norah Jones's ticket sales were so poor in some markets that the singer had to move five concerts out of arenas and amphitheaters, which typically hold 15,000 to 20,000 people, and into venues holding around 4,000. The Lollapalooza tour was canceled. Gloria Estefan's representatives canceled a handful of shows to help concert promoters cut their losses; a person close to the singer conceded that the tour had been a disaster.
Trade publications that track concerts won't tally summer grosses until January, when they add up full-year results, but anecdotal evidence points to one of the slowest summers ever. The June-to-September period is crucial for the touring business, providing as much as 70 percent of annual revenue for companies with a lot of open-air venues. Many concert promoters say revenue was off as much as 40 percent compared with 2003.
Agents and promoters are trying to diagnose the problem, even as they cast about for cures. Tickets for Madonna and Simon & Garfunkel costing $350 got a lot of attention this year. But more dangerous, industry people say, is the $70-to-$80 ticket for a mediocre seat at a concert by Van Halen , Cher or some other sub-megastar. "There is a definite scrutiny," says agent Jonny Podell, whose clients include Van Halen , the Allman Brothers and Cyndi Lauper.
Concert promoters say they have had no choice but to jack up ticket prices because artists and their representatives demand so much money up front for appearances. Agents, meanwhile, say they can hardly be blamed for accepting the ever-higher bids promoters make for their services.
Musicians, too, are partly at fault, and even some agents admit it. "At the end of the day it is greed" driving up artists' asking prices, says Mark Geiger, an agent at the William Morris Agency.
Plummeting CD sales are a factor, too. Groups who have seen their royalty checks evaporate, are much more dependent on concert income — and, not surprisingly, much more willing to tour. "The public is pushing back," says Mr. Hodges. "(They're) saying, 'If I've seen the band already in the past 12 to 18 months, I might not go back to see them again, even if they're my favorites.'"
http://springfield.news-leader.com/business/today/1012-Poorconcer-199065.html