2010 has become a summer of canceled concerts

sad....


http://www.accessatlanta.com/atlanta-music/2010-has-become-a-573482.html

2010 has become a summer of canceled concerts


2010 is no Summer of Love.
According to music industry experts, this summer is shaping up to be one of the toughest for touring musicians based on a number of canceled show dates or tours -- including several scheduled for the Atlanta area.

The Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, 50 Cent and Lilith Fair are just some of the shows that Atlanta concertgoers will miss out on this summer. And while no promoter wants to admit it, the cancellations are generally due to slow ticket sales.

"In the summer we have way too many artists on tour than any market could support even in the best of economic times," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, a trade publication which tracks the concert industry. "We’ve seen a number of tours either be canceled or re-geared by dropping some markets or downsizing some venues."

As music industry changes have shrunk the revenue that comes from album sales, concert tours are among the few remaining ways for musicians to make money. Even acts that haven't been on the road for a while are hitting the touring circuit resulting in a glut of concerts, said industry experts.

Pollstar's Mid Year Business Analysis showed a 15 percent drop in overall concert tour business compared to the same time a year ago. The top 100 tours for the first six months of the year have a combined gross of $965.5 million, a decline of $196.8 million or 17 percent from the same period last year. While some geographic areas are doing better than others, the economy seems to be having an effect on all markets regardless of size. Still, that doesn't mean the bottom has dropped out of the concert industry.

Artists such as Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber are doing just fine. Among the top grossing tours this year are Bon Jovi, James Taylor/Carole King and Taylor Swift according to data from Pollstar.

"Some tours are not having any problems. Live music has a very bright future, but in a tough economic environment people have to make hard choices," Bongiovanni said.

Atlantans will be happy to know the city is not being singled out for canceled tours. The Jonas Brothers canceled most appearances in the southern region as did Lilith Fair. Rihanna's cancellations stretched from Indiana to Phoenix to Dallas. Atlanta's larger concert venues continue to draw reasonable revenues. Pollstar data shows year-to-date box office sales at Philips Arena around $13.5 million, which includes revenue from the top grossing Bon Jovi show.

"It’s not an Atlanta-specific issue. It is a national issue. It could actually be a social issue, an economic issue and a cultural issue," said Steve Jones, CEO of Brash Music, who teaches a course on music promotion at Georgia State University. "Are people more content to interact with their smart phone or computer than they are leaving the house and going and attending a live concert? It’s kind of frightening."

Demographics may also play a role in slow ticket sales in that younger audiences tend to buy tickets later.

"I definitely find when I am sending acts around the country, artists that have a younger fan base sell tickets closer to the date because you have less disposable income and college kids and high school kids just don't look beyond the end of their nose," said Cass Scripps, owner of Atlanta-based Metro Talent Group who books acts such as Corey Smith, Drivin' n Cryin' and the Freddy Jones Band.

On the other hand, many artists (or their promoters) are overly ambitious in thinking they can fill large venues, said Jones, calling Courtney Love's recent appearance at the Tabernacle "ridiculous." 50 Cent canceled his Tabernacle show while Rihanna had trouble selling Philips Arena. But when a show is canceled, it is a rare occasion for anyone to admit the reason is poor ticket sales.

Scheduling conflicts, or in the case of the Jonas Brothers, the desire to focus on the European and Latin American markets, have become code for lagging sales. Two notable exceptions were when Sarah McLachlan and her manager, organizers of Lilith Fair, admitted they were having trouble selling some venues and when the founder of the Country Throwdown Tour acknowledged that slow sales led to cancellations in certain cities. McLachlan fans, however, will have a chance to catch the singer in a special performance August 5 at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

Some shows, before resorting to cancellations, will offer dramatic discounts, said industry insiders. And that can be annoying for concertgoers as well.

"When a show goes on sale and a ticket is $60 and it's not doing really well then suddenly you can get two tickets for $60, and it still is not doing well and you can pay $10 -- that is not fair to fans," Jones said.

But there's nothing quite like learning that a show you've been anticipating is canceled.

Adam Vicinus of Utah, purchased tickets to Rhianna's Atlanta show as a surprise for a friend and her 15-year-old daughter. He logged on to Ticketmaster the first day tickets went on sale thinking the show would be a blowout. Weeks later his friend called to tell him she thought the show had been canceled. He gave Ticketmaster a call.

"They said we can’t give you a refund until we send an e-mail saying the show has been canceled," said Vicinus, who finally received a refund last week.

Vicinus said rather than canceling concerts, Rihanna and perhaps some other artists, should just take a hit. “Considering she is not a new artist...I think if she made enough money to cover costs and walked away breaking, even then why not do the performance for all the fans?”

Have to say, price of tickets are outrageous, but the music industry has to do something against downloading.

I do love live music, but there are hardly any artists I haven't seen or want to see anymore. Not big on a lot of the pop music.

Maybe this will turn things around, because as I've complained before, the various industries only look to the young people to make their money.

They may have the money to spend however they want, but whose credit cards are being used to buy those tickets online, or other things online?

I believe that it all comes back to the adults. They don't have funds to give the kids to spend however they want right now.

Earn? Or get allowances? Not necessarily earned. Plus with our problems of lack of work, kids aren't making the extra dough they used to.

well, here in atlanta during the summer especially...lots of "old" people tour and the target audience is a much older group. but, with so many of us out of jobs and the economy being what it is......no one is packing these shows out like in the past. sad. i miss seeing live music. i used to go to lots of shows, but just don't have the money to do it now. saw ringo a couple of weeks ago, but that didn't cost me anything.