Son, you'll never make money in music

[911pcars]

A interesting story in NPR this morning reported that the music concert business, especially with long-time acts such as Simon & Garfunkel, Bon-Jovi, Paul McCartney, etc. are raking in the gazillions each year. However, while total ticket sales have decreased, the revenue has gone the other way due to the rise in ticket prices.

For example, Mick and group charge an average of $90 for each concert ticket. I forget what that translates to per year but's it's on the NPR.org website, with I believe, a downloadable audio file of the piece. Bon Jovi grossed 2.1 billion in ticket sales last year. S & G pull in $1 mil per concert with a reported take home pay of $.5 mil. (that's for one night's work).

And I only play the radio. Sigh.

I'm sure there's some sort of hidden left-wing message, but let's leave it at that.

Sherwood

[pwd72s]

So you're the guy...the one who listens to NPR...

[911pcars]

Paul,
Honestly, a lot of good articles on NPR that seem to be simply good news stories one doesn't hear about elsewhere. Just as I wouldn't ask anyone to believe everything they see on CBS or NBC, does that mean there couldn't be something worth viewing otherwise? Same with NPR. Listeners don't have to swallow the whole enchilada. I use the same strategy whenever I listen to Hannity or Riley.

Does anyone see a political agenda in the music concert story?

Sherwood

[Overpaid Slacker]

PWD -
Next time you write something that funny, please preface it with something like "swallow whatever beverage you're drinking prior to reading the following".

JP

[pwd72s]

Sherwood, I really was just joking. Sorry. I just wish there was a market these days for a news outlet that did what all of them claim to do..."just the facts"...I know...I'm asking for the impossible. But it seems to me that only when the subject is bland does the reporting become without bias.

[nostatic]

ahh, but how much of that money does the artist see? After you take out Ticketmaster's cut (which by the way, is probably the most egregious unregulated monopoly in the country), ClearChannel's cut (they own most of the venues), the record company, touring company, etc...

I'm not saying they're starving, but don't assume that the ticket price translates directly into the artist's pocket.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

They were talking about some of the bigger names pocketing over $1 million a show. That's AFTER TicketBastard and all the others get their cut.

I think Simon & Garfunkel were charging up to $250 a head.

Yep, here's a link to the story:

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1533242.html

I may hate Neil Diamond's music, but I can't fault his ticket pricing policy.

[911pcars]

I'm not sure music listening (via concerts) is a commodity like oil or prescription drugs. Paying to see a concert at whatever price is very optional and the value is in the eye of the beholder. There are fewer options to get to work or to get well for many of us. Thus the difference between expensive tickets versus gouging. I think they'll continue to raise prices until they reach the magic ceiling price. For example, how much will movie tickets have to cost to dissuade us from watching first run films?

My daughter enlightened me (as well as several articles on the subject) that due to widespread downloading and/or the fact the record labels and the middle men take home most of the profit, artists are making less today, or continue to make less. Thus, they tour to make up the difference.

The take home from a live concert can be 50% of the house. That's significant when you're an established act and tour many weeks out of the year. Even bands who have dissolved due to personality conflicts; they hate each other (e.g. S&G, Eagles, etc.) co-exist on stage because they realize the potential payoff can be lucrative for all parties involved. I don't think that's liberal nor conservative. That's real capitalism at work.

Sherwood