this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2024
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[–] pennomi 183 points 6 days ago (6 children)

I was under the impression that while streaming was garbage for money that touring was the cash cow. Apparently it’s a loss for these artists. It makes me sad that all the profits get vacuumed up by everybody but the artist.

[–] [email protected] 122 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Those days are over sadly. Ticketing and venues are largely consolidated now.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 6 days ago (4 children)

It's got to be the ticketing taking too much vig, right? I hear these stories about $300 tickets, I haven't been to a concert in years but in the 2000's touring was where the money came from. With $45+ticketmaster tickets.

They have to be sucking all the money out at point of sale

[–] astanix 44 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Just look at ticket prices on ticketmaster for a US show and compare it to the cost of an international venue.

When I was pricing David Gilmour it was literally cheaper to buy a plane ticket and fly from NY to Rome and go to the show there than get the worst seats in Madison Square Garden.

[–] Dupree878 30 points 6 days ago

Because Ticketmaster and it’s venues are a monopoly. Pearl Jam tried to warn us 30 years ago.

[–] Dupree878 16 points 6 days ago

The ticketing company owns all the venues now and they own the secondhand scalper sites so they allocate a bunch of tickets to the secondhand site and mark them way up plus they can charge whatever they want for the venue and only pay the artist what they were contracted for

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's also probably one of the few ways for artists to have an income that their lable/manager/publisher/whoever the fuck else doesn't take a huge cut of. Add in ticket master and company and they're fucked.

Those contracts they sign can be fucking brutal. I'm not familiar with either of those artists but it's a common enough problem in that industry.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago

Was ever thus, init.

The options are 1) Charge less and sell more, or 2) Charge much more and sell less, but make up more than the difference in how much more they charge.

They always, always take option 2 because they’re shitheads who feel like they have a legal duty to put the shareholders above the customers.

[–] [email protected] 89 points 6 days ago

It makes me sad that all the profits get vacuumed up by everybody but the artist.

The average worker experience

[–] themeatbridge 40 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Touring has always been a boondoggle. Artists could make bank if they were selling out shows, but the baseline venue prices have skyrocketed out of reach for most fans. The producers, promoters, engineers, technicians, roadies, not to mention lodging, travel, and food, a lot of people expect to be paid before the artist makes a dime.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Ticketmaster and LiveNation (also Ticketmaster) expect to be paid most of all. The own so many venues it's incredible.

[–] Dupree878 5 points 6 days ago

And the scalping sites.

They’re totally a monopoly but the government won’t do anything because they only hurt normal people.

Musk needs to start a ticketing agency so somebody rich has a stake and watch congress do something.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's why I make it a point to buy merch when I see a band I like on tour. They probably earn more from it than the actual tour itself.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Venues are taking a cut of that as well now in some cases. It's disgusting honestly.

[–] Dupree878 12 points 6 days ago

I went with a date to see Tori Amos last year and the merch was stupidly expensive (even for concert merch) and the woman told us to order online because the venue was taking ½ of merch so everything was double

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago

I've played many shows for free after several hours driving (with gas I paid for), US's music scene is set up to fail

[–] Skullgrid 19 points 6 days ago

I was under the impression that while streaming was garbage for money that touring was the cash cow. Apparently it’s a loss for these artists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJSp-yRMrsY

why you do this - a self documentary from car bomb on why people still make music/tour despite monetary hardship.

There are tech death musicians out there that give some classical composers a run for their money that still have day jobs, mostly in computer programming of some kind.

(side note : turns out that technical death metal appeals to the same kind of people that enjoy working on applied mathematics. who could have guessed)