The Billboard Touring Conference addressed a lack of artist development as being one of the most critical issues of touring in the industry (Waddell, para.3). This is equally important for artists that are trying to breakout into the industry, as it is for the headliners that have already made it. There are still those rarities that take the industry by storm, such as Taylor Swift with all of her hard work and her ability to capture a crowd, but there is a long road ahead for the development of most artists when it comes to concerts (Waddell, 2009). With being the highest revenue producer, having an act that can not only sell a concert, but sell it out many times over, is of the biggest benefit for those involved with the musician.
Another aspect that is effecting touring in the music industry is that of tickets, the selling and pricing of them. Obviously, to make the most revenue one must sell out a concert; hence why it is so important to try and sell out a concert. It's the ticketing service charges that have been negatively effecting the ticket pricing, causing it to be raised, and therefore frustrating the consumer, especially the ones that may have been able to attend if it were at a lower rate. I have noticed that ticketing companies such as ticketmaster or tickethorse have sometimes come back around offering more tickets to a sold out concert as the concert gets closer to the performance day, which can be very helpful to those with whom can afford it. However, I thought that maybe one way a label/artist promoter might be able to benefit from the attempt of selling out a concert that has not yet sold out is if they randomly offer an unexpected reduced rate to concerts that haven't yet sold out, that way they make another attempt at selling out and fulfilling the needs of consumers as well? A lot of times, those consumers who cannot afford to go, wait to try their luck with radio stations who offer tickets to concerts. My friend, Chris Pipkin, has worked for a local radio station for a few years now and said that they are given tickets to concerts by the label or concert promoters to help build consumer interest. That is another way that the reduced priced tickets could be sold and promoted, through the talk of the radio stations that also end up giving some away.
Although both problems have their own hand in the game of concert touring, they also coincide with each other. Consumers are less willing to pay a high dollar amount for newer artists that aren't as established in the industry, as well as for artists who are not known for their live performances. As Brian Jones stated "too many artists looking for work and not enough ticket buyers who will pay for a ticket it takes to promote a show" (Waddell, 2009) proves the fact that in order to get a high priced concert to sell out, the act better be top notch in every aspect of the phrase (just as Taylor Swift has proven all summer with her repeatedly sold-out concerts, her concert in Denver sold out quick in March and it's not even until September). Otherwise, the industry needs to work out the service fees that are expected on the return of a ticket sale. If both sides worked out a compromise by lowering the fees a little, extra emphasis on the artist production and if at all fails adding a little compensation if a sold out event occurs, then all grounds could be made happy, especially the consumer. After all, those are the ones that keep the business growing...
References
Waddell, R. (2009). TOURING: BOOKING BINDS. Billboard, 121(41), 24-26. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Waddell, R. (2008). VIEW FROM THE ROAD. Billboard, 120(47), 48-50. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
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