| Clear Channel to "spin off" entetainment division [message #48706] |
Fri, 29 April 2005 11:32  |
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 Lee Brenkman
Messages: 2062
Registered: April 2004
Location: Oakland CA |
Has No Life |
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Let's see, you as a company:
Control most of the sheds in North America and dozens of smaller venues.
Have been doing business while ticket prices went up 25 to 100% for the same artist's tours of only a few years ago.
Own most of the radio stations that "co promote" your concerts.
For several years sell more concert tickets, both in terms of numbers and dollar value than the next dozen or more promoters COMBINED.
And you still bleed money doing it.
Maybe this here concert promotion business isn't the gold mine you thought it would be.
Or maybe as "money people" you just didn't have a clue or even care about music.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2545f8b8-b8c3-11d9-bfeb-00000e2511c 8.html
Now the fun begins as some of the people who promoted concerts before Clear Channel bought SFX are getting back in the business as "independents".
Want to bet that tech budgets and pay scales won't go up during the shakeout.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."
— Mark Twain
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| Re: Clear Channel to "spin off" entertainment division [message #49070 is a reply to message #48709 ] |
Sun, 01 May 2005 18:53  |
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Dave Stevens
Messages: 1983
Registered: February 2004
Location: 7th Level |
Has No Life
Anvil of Reality |
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| JR wrote on Fri, 29 April 2005 09:52 |
In their defense the web, IPOD, satellite radio, and regulation has changed their radio business quite a bit (less advertising revenue, more fines). The concert side has been challenged by some IMO poor decisions (ticket prices too high, perhaps driven by artist guarantees).
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Radio has been it's own worst enemy by consolidating playlists and chasing demographic instead of loyal listeners. Last week my fav local station switched formats so I started digging around the local radio demographic/ratings. Radio has consolidated to the point where variety and local exposure have been mitigated, Having a guy do a voice track that's inserted into the sat feed isn't a substitute for having real people in the market doing real promotional events. I have a feeling that radio will be in flux for awhile until the conglomerates either divest or change the way they approach radio.
If only the artists were pocketing the bulk of tix prices. While the artists do get a lion's share of the box office revenue in most cases, costs associated with touring have dramatically increased in the last decade or so. Fuel and labor are up there, off the top the agents, managers and accounts get 30% or so. Couple that with older or more esoteric artists not able to gig five or six nights a week and you have fewer shows per week but not a greatly reduced cost schedule. Direct show costs are reduced but weekly artist cost for tour production doesn't change that much. In many cases tour production costs are in a addition to the contracted fee though in the end are reflected in the ticket price.
With the notable exception of mileage and hotel rooms for the crew on off days, many of the direct artist costs of the tour production are more or less fixed or only slightly variable. Fuel costs are killer and even on small tours impact the bottom line. More on larger tours or tours with chartered aircraft.
The economies of scale that other industries enjoy don't necessarily apply to concert production in all cases. The conglomerates came to be from buying most of the established regional concert promoters. As the work agreements and non competes expire, the key figures in the former regional players are reentering the market. Over the next few years I expect that to temper what the conglomerates have done over the last several years.
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