Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Music news Hey Atlanta, why aren't you buying concert tickets?
Posted by Gabe Vodicka @gabevodicka on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Is it because they're ungodly expensive, and you're flat broke? Yeah, thought so. A couple weeks ago, 50 Cent cancelled his Tabernacle gig. No explanation was given, although the oft-cited phrase "poor ticket sales" was given as the possible culprit. Then R&B dude Maxwell's show at Philips Arena tour was nixed, maybe because he hated Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, but also maybe because no one was willing to shell out a hundred bucks for a ticket?
Now the third and probably not final mystery in the Case of the Cancelled Concerts: the Buzz cites a "rock-solid local source" who reports that Rihanna's upcoming Philips concert might be in jeopardy, as well. One show on her upcoming tour has already been cancelled, and Atlanta might be next.
What gives, you ask?
Well, it's pretty obvious that most people view concert tickets as a non-essential expense, especially when they're exorbitantly priced, as most big-name shows inevitably are. Will the industry give in amidst so many show cancellations? It's already well documented that CDs don't sell anymore - will high-priced concerts be the next casualty of a rapidly-crumbling music industry infrastructure? And is it sad, or is forcing a tired, antiquated system to retool itself really such a bad thing?
EDIT: As a commenter notes, Maxwell's Philips Arena show happened as scheduled. The singer actually cancelled a run of dates set to begin in late June.
(Photo via)
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
I go to a lot of live shows in Atlanta (20 so far in 2010) and the two main things that keep me from buying tickets to some shows are the venues they are playing and that most big shows that come through Atlanta are on weekdays.
I've watched some of my favorite bands grow up... start at a smaller venue (Variety Playhouse, Masquerade, Center Stage, etc), then boom, they're huge and now play at the bigger venues (Philips Arena, Gwinnett Arena, Lakewood). I usually skip the bigger venues because the experience just sucks to be honest. My two favorite venues are about as large as I will go (Tabernacle and The Fox).
Second... weekday shows don't work in Atlanta, fans live all over the metro area and getting to some of the venues on a weekday is just dreadful and getting a large group of friends to attend a weekday show rarely gets pulled off. I think artists feel Atlanta is such a huge market that a weekday show will still sellout and reserve the weekend dates for smaller cities where ticket sales might be tougher.
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Hmmm, I thought at least one of the Maxwell shows was sold out, with the other one close to it, so not sure how ticket sales could have affected those ones.
Maxwell Sold Out with Jill Scott and a nice crowd of over 8,000 with Erykah Badu so this is totally stupid!!!
I like the picture you used for this article. It looks like a Colorforms background or something.
Ticketmaster & their 30% commission ON TOP OF completely outrageous prices. Fuck em. Cancel away greedy assholes.
I agree with jdivosevic 98%. Smaller/indier acts are a hell of a lot cheaper. But getting to and from a show on a weeknight can give you second thoughts on your ticket purchases. I will struggle often to convince friends to go to great acts Sunday-Thursday.
I made the mistake of seeing Van Morrison at Verizon blah blah blah in May. Aside from Paul McCartney at Piedmont Park last summer (which was worth it as a one-of-a-kind experience), that was the most expensive show I've ever witnessed. And it sucked, for a lot of reasons.
I go to many shows in the local rock scene and somewhere between $10-12 is probably the average. Several hours of music, no shortage of entertainment, no lines, no parking issues. Support local artists and let the Ticketmaster-involved events implode.
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