PSN has posted the annual recap of the 2k4 touring season. According to Pollstar gross ticket sales were 2.8 billion and according to Billboard the gross was 2.4 billion. The numbers are pretty interesting because last year many promoters took a bath on shows that were expected to do well. Rather than grosses, I’d like to see how PROFITABLE the season was for not only promoters but sound companies, though the PSN story touches on it as well. Anecdotal evidenced indicates to me that sound people as well as sound companies and tour staff are working and buying more last year than in the few previous years.
The article comes to the conclusion that ticket prices are too high. THE HELL YOU SAY!!!. You don’t exactly have to be a rocket surgeon to figure that out. It’s one thing to pay sixty bucks to see something that is original and unique, perhaps a one of a kind act. It’s another thing entirely to pay that or close to that for some “dig ‘em up” band that’s been flogging the sheds every season for the last decade. It’s too expensive and there was too much mediocre stuff out or acts playing in venues way too big for way too much money. If that trend keeps up, sound companies and tour staff of all disciplines will feel the blunt swing of the correction. Acts that were doing poor business in sheds last year, particularly classic acts, will go down to doing the casino and corndog curcuit, which isn’t too bad or basing the deals on half capacity shed venues and scaling the costs appropriately.
One thing the article doesn’t include, perhaps because they don’t want to poke a sleeping giant, but the impact Clear Channel or HOB have had in the consolidation of the major promoters in the country.
I’ve done scores of gigs they they have promoted and from my end it seems to be much the same as it was pre buyout at most places. Most of the same people are in the same slots and everything from the sound roadie’s perspective seems not to have changed any more than normal. What would be interesting to me, is to see how things have changed from the booking and tour manager aspects. Back in the day, a five fiugre loss at a show could have put a regional promoter out of business, or at least in serious hurt. Could the glut of talent out last year be simply because the two main players are willing and able to “throw it on the wall and see what sticks?” In many instances they are competing with casinos that in many cases are using the shows as loss leaders to get people in the door for gambling, particularly with smaller and mid level touring acts.
At this point based on the contacts I’ve had, 2k5 is shaping up to be at least as busy as last season was. Let’s see if anyone makes any money at it this year.
Info about the show is in a Flash presentation so I can’t link directly to it. Among the exhibitors are Latin powerhouse Hermes Music, taking nearly a third of the available booth space, Meyer Sound Labs, Allen & Heath, Ashly Audio, Shure and d&b audiotechnic among others.