www.rockphiles.com

[eaglemom]

I have absolutely no idea how the music business works but the tickets went on sale Saturday and they are pulling the plug already??? I questioned the choice of some of the venues but WTHDIK. Toronto sold out in 8 minutes.
If they aren't getting played on the radio, then they sure as heck aren't getting the tour promoted on the radio.

It's a mess.
I'm moving to Canada.

[eaglemom]

At least this guy gets it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13173142/from/RS.1/

[mewsical]

It's not really anything to do with the music business - it's the fan business. The fans have to buy the tickets, and if they don't, then the show don't go on because the promoter will lose money. They mentioned in the article that Canada was having no problem, and a couple of dates back east, but Houston, Oklahoma and so on were stiffing.

At least they're selling CDs, but I think that's because of the internet exposure.

[eaglemom]

But why pull the plug after only 4 days of ticket sales? Is there a written rule somewhere that says if you've only sold so many tickets after a certain number of days, then the show will be a flop?

[mewsical]

I think they predicate it on slightly more data than that -- but these promoters do tend to check in with each other, rely on street buzz, look at where the concert goer is putting their money for the summer touring season, and so on.

However, based on the amount of advance that was going on, the album is selling very well, but the concerts weren't being promoted as strongly, imo. Everything was secondary to the politics and the CD, so the concerts may have fallen prey to lack of adequate promotion.

And now with Al Zarqawi dead as a doornail (that was good news to wake up to I must say) Bush's numbers might start to come up again.

[mewsical]

[Henley_Fan]

[mewsical]

Yes - it sure was.

I guess they've been showing photos of him after he was squashed by the house falling on him. They were saying on the radio that plastic surgeons probably had to rebuild his face a bit, like they had to with Saddam's two horrible dead sons before they photographed them.

[eaglemom]

Dixie Chicks' Tour Revamped
Despite strong album sales, presale tickets aren't moving well for the country trio's live performances.
By Randy Lewis, Times Staff Writer
June 9, 2006


After declaring themselves "Not Ready to Make Nice" with fans and radio programmers who had criticized the Dixie Chicks for a jab at President Bush on the eve of the war in Iraq, the controversial trio may be paying the price at the concert box office.

Early sales of tickets have been so slow in several cities on the group's imminent Accidents & Accusations tour that the tour is being significantly revamped, resulting in the cancellation of some shows and the addition of others.

Group spokeswoman Kathy Best downplayed the changes Thursday. "The tour is not being postponed or canceled at all. There is a reshuffling of dates and as soon as rerouting is confirmed, we will be able to announce the changes.... There will be some cancellations due to rerouting and additional dates being added."


Initial sales for Chicks shows in more than 20 markets, most in 10,000- to 20,000-capacity sports arenas, are averaging 5,000 to 6,000 in major metropolitan areas and fewer in smaller markets, according to Billboard.

Because of weak presales for shows in Indianapolis (Aug. 23), Oklahoma City (Sept. 26), Memphis (Sept. 27) and Houston (Sept. 30), general sales for those shows were halted so that new dates can be arranged. The U.S. tour is slated to open July 21 in Detroit and to reach L.A. for a Sept. 14 stop at Staples Center.

The group suffered lost album sales and ticket revenues in 2003 when singer Natalie Maines told a London concert audience, "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," a widely reported off-the-cuff remark that resulted in stinging rebukes, album and concert boycotts and even death threats against the multiplatinum-selling country band.

"In today's environment, presales are a good barometer of how much heat is surrounding a given tour," Ray Waddell, who covers the concert business for Billboard, said Thursday. "Compared to their last tour and the new album's sales, this has to be considered a disappointment."

That album, "Taking the Long Way Home," is now in its second week at the top of the national sales chart, having sold nearly 800,000 copies during its first two weeks in stores. The group chose the song "Not Ready to Make Nice," a response to the controversy, as the first single, a record that country radio largely ignored.

Even so, strong album sales don't always equate with brisk business at the concert box office.

"They had to plan this tour and book it before the record was released," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the concert industry-tracking magazine. "They had to make assumptions about their areas of strength, but once you look at where the record is actually selling, those assumptions may no longer be valid."

The revision of a tour "happens more often than most people realize," Bongiovanni said, "because it's usually on lower-profile tours than this one. U2 probably doesn't have to reroute their tours very often. But even Bruce Springsteen has a stiff every once in a while."

Waddell noted that the Dixie Chicks' tour has been the toughest sell in southern states. "It's done better in the blue-state type areas, and in Canada, than it has in the South and Midwest.

"The Chicks will tell you they're not a country act, and it appears that not a lot of country fans are lining up to buy tickets to this show," Waddell said. "If the sales were based only on quality of this record and the quality of the Dixie Chicks as performers, it should be a no-brainer home run. It's too bad there's other baggage associated with it."

[mewsical]

Both Randy and Ray know the music business very well -- and this continues to bolster what the msnbc.com piece said. Baggage. And as I thought all along, continuing to Bush-bash in the media at this time was probably counter-productive to the tour. If someone has lost, i.e. the country fans in their support of the war, it doesn't necessarily make the winners, i.e. the DCs, look good to figuratively jump up and down yelling "I won, I won!" We'll have to see what happens with this tour, but those are horrible numbers.

[EaglesBabe18]

NRTMN is on this week's UK chart at #70 in it's first week.
_________________
Be young, be foolish, be happy.

[mewsical]

That certainly makes sense - I think they'll do very well outside the U.S. as far as their concerts are concerned.

The Eagles are taking a bit of a risk with this double bill - I'll be interested to see what people have to say about it.

[EaglesBabe18]

I'll be there so we'll see how it goes.
_________________
Be young, be foolish, be happy.

[mewsical]

Well, more info from the L.A Times. Basically, country radio is refusing to run ads for the concerts, as is Miami and Salt Lake (no surprise there).

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-weekpop12_jun12,1,4712046.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Let me know if you can't access the link and I'll cut and paste.

[eaglemom]

"In the first two weeks their new album has sold 800,000 copies and it's a No. 1 record, so you know there's an audience for the Dixie Chicks," Bongiovanni said. "But when country radio is not playing their music, boycotting their records and not accepting advertising for their shows, that sets up certain obstacles."

Ya know, I just don't know what to say anymore.