Rockonomics and Its Uses – Finally, economic proof of Elton John’s genius! By Daniel Gross
“And what’s causing the higher prices? Clear Channel, the giant radio and concert-promotion business run by the right-wing Mays family of Texas, has often been painted as a malign force in the modern music industry%u2014monopolizing venues and driving up ticket prices. But Krueger doesn’t buy it. The company’s market share of concert revenue has fallen since 2001, even as prices continued to rise. And concert prices have risen sharply in Europe and Canada, where Clear Channel has no presence. Besides, Clear Channel just announced it will spin off its live entertainment unit, which implies the company isn’t reaping extraordinary profits from it. ‘Don’t blame Clear Channel,’ said Krueger in an interview. ‘Blame the downloaders.’
Pop stars are charging higher prices because they’re realizing less income from sales of CDs and other forms of recorded music. ‘Only four of the top 35 income-earners made more money from recordings than from live concerts,’ Krueger and Connolly note. And for the top 35, ‘income from touring exceeded income from record sales by a ratio of 7.5 to 1 in 2002.’
In some ways, the rockonomy resembles the increasingly winner-take-all American economy. The rich are getting richer, and it’s good to be the king or queen of pop. In 1982, the top 1 percent of artists banked 26 percent of ticket revenues; in 2003, they garnered 56 percent.
Baby-boomers are the primary driving force behind a lot of these trends. Nostalgia-seeking, age-resisting boomers have more disposable income than youngsters, and so have more to spend on expensive tickets at the box office. Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones topped the income-earning chart in 2002. The top 16 earners in 2002 also included 1970s-vintage draws like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Eagles, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen. On tour, Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond easily out-earn Britney Spears and Kid Rock.”
Daniel, I love your work, but you missed one of the big reason why those particular concerts are getting so much coin.
All the big name, big selling acts listed are old. Elton John’s 58, Cher turns 59 this week, the Stones are in their 60’s, Tina Turner’s 65, half the Beatles and Who are dead– exactly how many more concerts can people expect to see from these people? They’re limited commodities. Get them now, you may never get another chance to see, say, David Crosby perform at all, much less in prime condition. (Did you ever catch any of Sinatra’s last shows? Grisly.) The youngest act around in that weight class is U2, and Bono’s 45 already.
Damn straight.
I’m still kicking myself, twenty years or so later, for not finding out soon enough that “The Cockroaches” who were playing the Fox here in Atlanta were, in fact, the Rolling Stones, opening an arena tour by playing one show at a 3500-seat venue for reasonable ticket prices…
As to the evil of Clear Channel — whether they’re responsible for higher prices, they sure are heavily involved in the mediocritisation of music, both thru their interlocking promotion/venue control and even more so thru their effective control of what gets played on the air.
And, of course, here in Atlanta, we have the spectacle of Clear Channel first forcibly co-opting Alex Cooley, one of the more respected local/regional promoters in the business, and then, in essence, firing him from his own business.
But thank god for small independent venues — one of those “acts i need to see before either he or i plotz” — Commander Cody — is coming to Atlanta next month at Blind Willy’s.
I have to correct you re: Clear Channel and Canada. They do have a presence up here, and have had such for a couple of years now.
They apparently have a deal with the local transit service here in Ottawa re: bus shelter advertisement space management as their logo’s all over every shelter with an ad display in town. And they’re advertising as a co-organizer of several notable concerts hereabouts.
I have to wonder what’s next…