by Brad Moyers
Will the economy still affect the music business in this New Year as it did in 2009? Last year, concert promoters slashed ticket prices in order to fill seats and continue tours. Major acts like Aerosmith and Miley Cyrus sold lawn seats for ten dollars. Creed, trying to make a comeback, actually sold some seats for only seventy-five cents. How is this possible? Fans couldn’t afford to pay 50+ dollars for a concert ticket, and wouldn’t try. It will be very interesting to see what this New Year brings to the concert pricing situation. But, if they can afford to slash the ticket prices then, this writer has to wonder if they are too high to begin with. Perhaps if they leave the ticket prices at a reasonable level, more fans buy tickets for these shows.
Certainly, there is also the possibility of saturation with certain artists involved as well. We in West Virginia don’t see it as much, as major tours simply don’t stop here. Some tours stop at, say Memphis or Chicago often, and if they stop too often, then saturation comes into play. Not as many fans want to pay the price to see the “ABC Band” again so soon. There was talk at one point that Aerosmith was getting to that point on their touring. Too much is sometimes that: too much.
Events coming to the Charleston Civic Center include WWE Wrestling, Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, Ringling Brothers Circus and certainly, several musical events that have yet to be determined. All these shows will almost certainly have to factor in the state of the economy when fixing their ticket prices.
This is doom and gloom, certainly, in the eyes of the event promoters, but good news for those of us who simply can’t afford the astronomical ticket prices. So, maybe something good will come out of this situation and more Americans will get to experience the thrill of a live event. Listening to a CD is one thing, but being in the crowd at a live performance is an experience.
Quickly, name two bands who are celebrating fifty years in the business. Would you believe The Temptations and The Bee Gees? The first is one of my favorites and the later one of my eleven year old daughter’s favorites. Isn’t it amazing that music is such a timeless thing, that it can both endure and transcend generations like this?
Though you can play Beatles songs on Rock Band and enjoy the band’s epic catalog on remastered CDs, you still couldn’t legally buy the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo on the iTunes store or other digital shops – until last month. In a move that may represent Apple Corps softening its traditionally inflexible view of selling the Fab Four’s music digitally, the company and EMI Music released a limited-edition USB drive featuring the entire Beatles in a Stereo remastered set as 320 Kbps MP3s on December 8th. All 14 albums and 13 “mini-documentaries” were included on the 16GB USB drive, which is shaped like the iconic Apple logo with “The Beatles” written on it.
Only 30,000 of these USBs will be produced; information is available at the Beatles website, if any remain. (I don’t want to scare you with the price.) Isn’t technology really something?
Have a great month, and always take the time to let a little music into your world, whether it’s at home or carefully negotiating the winter two-lanes.
Brad Moyers welcomes your comments & input via email at brad.moyers@yahoo.com. You can also visit his music blog at http://share22.blogspot.com/
This is a very cool article, I could not have agreed more.
Although I could consider myself a Beatles afficianado for many years, I have yet to hear any of these digital remasters. Looking forward to it at some point in time.
As always, a fine piece, Brad, and the bridge between musical appreciation and the sordid economy is worth the mention.
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