In which Bob Lefsetz gets it half right in writing about Livenation and the falling apart of the rock concert tix, this is what he wrote: “Only investors who can afford overpriced tickets don’t realize that the model is broken. That first and foremost, there must be demand. And that requires multiple acts that can do sell out business. But there are few of those, because it’s hard to reach critical mass in today’s market and too many wannabes are just that, having watched “American Idol” and read Perez Hilton, they’re focused on fame, not music, and unwilling to pay their dues for years in order to get a toehold, which may never pay off.”
He is right about overpried tickets, wrong about paying your dues.
What’s Lefsetz suggesting?
That only musicians who pay their due deserve to sell out stadiums.
This is the essential part of pop music Lefsetz misses. Pop music is IN TRANSIT. It comes and it goes. Why can’t pop music not last a lifetime. Why is it a sin for Ke$ha to sell out 2K seaters and then stop? Isn’t that the bread and butter of rock and roll?2K, $20 net = $40K, say another 5K net in merch. 45K to the talent a night. They pay 10K for all expenses including the hall. 30K a night for 100 nights =34M.
Maybe Ke$ha never sells again. So what?
Doesn’t hit me as dysfunctional. The tix should hover around $30 with all charges included.
Why can people not see it as more like a baseball player than a company drone?