Concert Promotion and Production
CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONCERT PROMOTION AND PRODUCTION hile the monetization of recorded music has struggled mightily for years, it’s W a different story for live concerts. Although hardly immune to the vagaries of the greater economy, live music has an enormous economic advantage over recorded music. A fan must generally pay hard dollars to enjoy a live performance by a favored act, while an unauthorized shared download or a free streamdistribute puts little or nothing in the artist’s pocket. Music concerts generated $8.2 billion in surveyed 2017 ticket sales in North America, according to industry sources, not including the value of resale of tickets on the secondary market and the many acts that don’t tour nationally. Add to that sum ticket resales, corporateor sponsorships, and the economic spillover for supporting vendors and restaurants, and the vast economic footprint of live music becomes obvious. Besides generating substantial revenue from ticket sales, live concerts boost record sales. Live concerts also increase demand for artist-related licensed mer- chandise, such as T-shirts, posters, jewelry, keychains, and books. Concerts and the sale of ancillary products are so critical that major recording companies are reluctant to sign an act that doesn’t also have a compelling stage presence. And if the label does sign the act, there’s a goodpost, chance it’s part of a broad 360 deal that yields the label a healthy piece of the box office and licensed merchandise income, among other revenue streams. Three key players move and shake the concert promotion industry: the event promoter, the artist’s manager, and the tour-booking agent.
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