Monday, October 27, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - Industry Forecast ( 33 of 52 )


INDUSTRY RESEARCH : PROMOTERS

IS THE INDUSTRY EXPANDING? 

The MAJOR promoters “Live Nation” and “AEG” are certainly expanding. For them, business is always expanding vertically and horizontally in terms of business lines and contracting in terms of tickets pricing and sales. 

However, for the entire nation and for that matter the world, the economic hardships of a tough recession and a slow recovery had amounted to a decrease in both ticket sells and events of around 12-15 percent circa 2006-2010. By all accounts the industry has been bouncing back for the global conglomerates who own, operate or manage while booking for their own venues either nationally or internationally.  

A multi-tiered ticketing approach had been in place to deal with the almost 40% of unsold tickets in the industry during the downturn and has become the norm today, as well as ticket price reductions, and expanded sponsorship revenue streams for merchandising, new media and even recording activities or LIVE streaming to add greater value. 

Because promoters are competing with the large conglomerates they are finding themselves acting like music companies promoting not only the events but any un-signed undistributed record/cd for the artist on tour. There are also digital bundles with ticketing companies and websites, website-TV streaming that gets world wide attention, Traditional radio specials and TV (promotions), posters and handbills are important since some major record companies do not service regional areas anymore.  
There are many independent producers, labels, distributors and promoters now that can access the internet marketplace like MySpace, YouTube, iTunes and big box retailers like Wal-Mart.

Will this trend continue?    

The industry has steadily bounced back from the recession and as un-employment decreases and the economy stabilizes, tours and concerts have grown double digit internationaly as well as nationally. On the average fans will attend 3 large LIVE events because that experience is difficult to achieve otherwise however, there's is a trend to larger multi-day events at outdoor venues which are typically cheaper to rent for the promoter and can sell to larger crowds that are willing to sit in non-traditional seating arrangements. 

These ticket prices used to be lower but have increased in price from $150 to $300 and this year might jump to $400-500 hundred dollars for General admission. My concern is that if the fan is willing to make that investment it might be at the risk of not attending any other large event for the rest of the year.  
I am hoping that this might turn out to be a great cross marketing opportunity.  A "Black Friday" for entertainment which rather than just expanding the fan base might actually be a plate tectonic shift from indoor to outdoor vis-a-vis the festivals and our disruptive social media technology of the day can ride the wave. 

A great opportunity as far as this magazine and my blog are concerned and certainly something to capitalize upon by JOINING my YouTube channel and Tweets from WPLV24 or by SUBSCRIBING to my RSS feeds and blog at www.thewirelesscowboy.tv  

Monday, October 20, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - Promoter Demographics ( 32 of 52 )

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : PROMOTERS

WHERE ARE THEY MOST ACTIVE?


Of-course the bigger venues will always reside in popular metropolitan areas with higher population densities and education levels with more disposable incomes.  Costal states like California ( the 7th largest economy in the world and a population of 45 million )  New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia have been mecas for the music industry for decades but even central states like Texas, Tennessee, Illinois and Michigan make themselves known for their large populations and cultural diversity. Among the most popular cities are Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta and Miami.        

Today's promoters know these demographics well and have been consolidating with mergers and acquisitions for more than a decade offering artists a One Stop shopping experience that provides both Venue and Promotion across the nation and even globally. For an artist or band the appeal of this approach is obvious and translates into the biggest acts dealing exclusively with these top tier.
But what if you are a mid-size venue / promoter in the business who can deliver quality promotions on your own or third party facilities? You can focus on niche, alternative markets through single promotions or through multi-city / multi-venue "block bookings" either on your own or with the larger promoters.        

If you are a small Local or Regional promoter the best way to produce and present an artist is to maximize every show by targeting the full potential of the market and the venue.  Your intent is to account for every seat, every ticket, every marketing opportunity and merchandising sale as to minimize costs for everyone including the artists. Increasing profitability can be achieved by focusing on Digital Marketing of both exclusive venues and the artists position in those markets. Developing a network of alliances with other agents, promoters, labels and marketers will help you maximize each opportunity to sell out a venues total capacity and develop your regional audience

The best approach to take is to Act locally but think Globally since there’s a gap between the artist who is being promoted through a national touring platform and the artist who is being secured solely for a single date in the local market. The promoters must adapt the national touring platform to a regional one and vise-versa. Offering multi-city and multi-venue to artists who aren’t on a national tour and promoting national up and coming artists through individual dates in their region.

This flexible approach allows the promoter to capture a string of artists and dates that can support and synergize each other creating unique cross marketing, sales and merchandising opportunities in any venue space. These venues have seen the bigger acts migrate to the ONE Stop shops and have had to open their doors with lower price points and more localized acts.

This can certainly be a source of sustainable incomes in the era of iTunes, Pandora and YouTube and has been best exemplified by the Summer Music festivals we discussed last year on my digital marketing  blog and this year starting March 1 at TheWirelessCowbot.tv and WPLV24.
 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - Top Promoters ( 31 of 52 )

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : PROMOTERS

WHICH PROMOTERS GENERATE THE MOST REVENUE?


The biggest owner/operator promoters are Live Nation and AEG. Together they own or operate 240 venues and account for almost 70 million tickets sold yearly around the world with upwards of 8 Billion usd dollars in revenue. These conglomerates have a huge advantage over smaller venue renting promoters and have begun to branch out into A&R representation, music label activities, ticketing and of-course as operators of some arenas even merchandising, restaurants and parking.

Their large capital access allow them to run outdoor music festivals like Coachella and StageCoach in the usa and since they already had team sports and sponsorship divisions it was natural to entertain the masses with dance festivals as well.  They feel some competition from independent promoters like Creative Artists Agency and WME at the local and regional level in North America but globally they stand alone atop.


TOP INTERNATIONAL PROMOTERS

LIVE NATION
142 venues, 2K artists, 22K events, 69 Music festivals
52 Million tickets sold
      6 Billion in sales from 3 divisions
60% USA 38% EU 2% Tickets
   Artist Nation manages 200 Artists including U2 and Madonna

AEG
98 venues, 10K events
12 Million tickets sold
      2 Billion is sales from 3 divisions
50% venues, 25% Teams, 25% Tickets

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
140 venues, 4K events
6 Million tickets sold
      1.4 Billion is sales from 2 divisions
90% venues, 10% Merchandising

TOP NORTH AMERICAN PROMOTERS
  
LIVE NATION
U2, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Nickelback, Jewel, JayZ, Drake, Shakira
   Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Kenny Chesney

AEG
Taylor Swift, Rolling Stones, The Who
   
CREATIVE ARTISTS
Bon Jovi, Eagles, Justin Bieber, One Direction, Kanye West , Maroon5, John Meyer, New Kids, Carrie  Underwood, Kid Rock, Tim McGraw, Jeff Durham, Shannai Twain, Keith Urban, Chicago, Journey, Kiss, Pitbull, Willie Nelson

WME
JZ/JT, Luke Bryan, Bruno Mars, Miranda Lambert , Rihanna, Blake Shelton, Depeche Mode, VANS Tour,  Alicia  Keyes 


research conducted using data reported by both Billboard magazine and PollStar at www.billboard.com www.pollstar.com

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - Promoter Pay ( W30 of 52 )


INDUSTRY RESEARCH : PROMOTERS

HOW DOES A PROMOTER GET PAYED? 

There are many types of promoters and each with different experience levels and revenue streams. From bar and club promoters at the ground level for local artists and events, all the way up to event management at the highest pop star and international venues. We focused on the Outdoor festival circuit last year but only because it was the most entertaining manner we could find to stay motivated through all of the research and analysis but a promoters job is universal across industries and products or services.
 
BAR/CLUB promoters can make $100, $500 and  even more than $1,500 per night while helping small venues fill in their off nights or pack their weekends and holidays. They need not hire staff like DJs since the establishments already have those in place.The promoter does need to have a game plan to create buzz and drive the crowds to the establishment.  These promoters can be payed on a per head count basis anywhere between $10 in big city market and $100 usd for "model type" patrons.  If they areconsistant they can demand flat fees from $100-800 per night.  

When the promoter is able to guarantee glamour customers , rich and famous or VIP big spenders they can also request a % of bar sales or bottle sales anywhere between 10-30%. The venue owner will often place a minimum that must be sold in order for commission to be payed and if it is not met then the promoter must pay the difference. The bar/bottle sales option requires a lot of experience and confidence from the promoter itself so be cautious. If you commit to 5 days a week of promotions or 4 weekends a month you can easily bring in $50,000 a year ( 25 per hr )

PARTY promoters mature into existence from the previous stage. They will need to hire DJs, entertainers, support staff and even manage the venue rentals and catering  in some cases so start-up  capital is needed. Risk in these types of promotions is high with insurance for  the venue becoming a must in certain genres like hip-hop ($2500 per night ) but certainly "better safe sorry". 

Return on Investment can range between 1K and 10K per party but this requires careful market research, advertising and marketing with a sound understanding of business planning that insures success. It is not a stretch to expect to run 25-50 events per year and expect a yearly total of $25,000-$500,000 in gross if you are committed to the job and not the lifestyle. That's $12.50 to $250 per hour in shift worker lingo.

EVENT promoters can make 10x or more but require long planning timelines, carry high risks and demand large amounts of working capital. The typical payouts are tied to revenue splits of 80/20, 70/30 and 50/50 for regional and national events.  This is often taken from ticket sales and door sales but a seasoned promoter will include merchandising and cross marketing revenue streams as well.  

Media buying costs are much higher as this type of event requires regional media buys as discussed on page 10-18 and media schedules that can have daily frequencies, regional reach and month long runs of both traditional and digital channels. These events are high profile so there is very little room for mistakes and the competition is high from large A&R organizations as well as the record companies and publishers that are offering 360 deals to top artists in order to capture this profitable revenue stream.  

Friday, October 3, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Promoter ( W29 of 52 )

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : PROMOTERS

WHAT DOES A PROMOTER DO?

A successful promoter takes control of every aspect in a tour or show. From research and planning to hiring support staff, supervising the production schedule and settling compensation.


RESEARCH
Geographic, demographic and  psychographic research for regional population densities, per capita incomes, education & cultural diversities proximity to universities plus venue rental fees associated with stage size, attendance capacities and supporting staff required and amenities.


PLANINING
The promoter needs to start 12-16 weeks from the event.


 1) Use existing contacts and previous events in order to spread word of mouth
 2) Use Advertising and Marketing tools to promote the show, ( Print, Radio,TV, Cable)
 3) Direct Mail should be sent out to allow for delivery using bulk USPS rates
 4) Set-up ticket sales outlets, online vendors and printed tickets or ticket-box
 5) Printing of tickets can be Co-OPed with outlet store name and coupons as advertising


8-12 weeks from the event
 6) Distribute, log and affidavit numbered tickets for vendor sales/receipt tracking
 7) Print and distribute advertising collateral to build buzz using local media community


4-8 weeks from the event 8) Hire support crew for Load-in, TicketSales, Ushers, LoadOut on contract or per diems
 9) Send out FREE PR to Local Radio, TV, News to maximize marketing budgets
 10) Your Direct Mail should have arrived so follow with tele-marketing, tally results and fulfill
 11) Start Radio advertising 30-60 sec spots, 4x a day during the week for at least 1 month


2-3 weeks from the event
 12) Set-up Interviews with artist(s) for industry news and media press release
 13) Monitor ticket sales every day and re-distribute more if necessary
 14) Check with facilities manager for insurance, lights, sound checks and security


Week of the show
 15) Set-up ticket sales, receipts and tickets along with money collections before the show
 16) Confirm arrival, sound check, dressing rooms and set-list with artist manager
 17) Set-up production schedule and share with all staff involved to commit


IMPLEMENTATION
* Day of Show Logistics
* Meet building manager to open and inspect venue 8hrs prior to showtime.
* Meet support staff with production schedule and duties 6hrs prior to showtime.
* Meet with supervisors to do a walk through of the building 4hrs prior to showtime.
* Meet with ticket booth manager for accounting for door sales, receipts and holds.
* Meet with ushers and security 2hrs prior to showtime.
* Meet with the band and manager to arrange settlement times.
* Supervise showtime and get cash and tickets from ticket booth manager.
* When show-time is over settle out w/crew & band, supervise venue load-outs & close. 

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Place ( W25-28 of 52 )

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : VENUES 

WHAT CAN A VENUE DO FOR AN ARTIST? 




Performing at the right venue can be the difference between a huge payday and cancelling a tour, both the artist and the promoters have a lot to lose if they make the mistake of playing a venue that's not appropriate.    
       
There are many different categories to consider with capacities, stage types, costs and popularity. Up and coming unsigned local artists generally play at bars in their local communities. These venues tend to have capacities of 50 to 250 and might have an open mic night or a house band. These venues are a great place to develop your stage presence and get used to the logistics of performing live. The income is not the major driving force at this stage unless it's the weekend and even then it will probably just cover the night's expenses.


When a local act gets tired of opening or closing a local bar and they have a  big enough fan base and budget they will venture into moving to a venue like a casino, ballroom, auditorium, hall, playhouse or even a hotel, market or zoo where they might have an audience of 250-1000. If the band can deliver the entire audience themselves they may be able to run their own shows but this is rather difficult to do while playing at the same time. At this stage the band can begin to build the stamina and momentum needed to master their own music and get a manager to help them grow.



Now, the more enterprising artists will use a manager or booking agent from the start and provided their chops are up to par will get entry into larger community sponsored events like performing arts centers, county fairs, small theaters, cabarets, pavilions, band-shells, amphitheaters or outdoor festivals which offer multiple bands and stages. Local festivals will need to fill 3 or 4 stages and can potentially drive 1,000 to 5,000 attendees providing the opening acts with a large audience.  Entry into these festivals can cost a band from $500 to $1500 but it is a well worth expense as they can exploit their attendance socially, gain new fans while making themselves available to possible label and publishing scouts at the festival. Unfortunately, these events are held yearly only so if the band can plan ahead the momentum from these events can lead to A&R representation or publisher interest if nothing else it can lead to participating in even larger festivals like SXSW in Texas or Boonaro in Tennessee.



Moving to the big shows requires that you be signed and managed by a large label or publisher that can sell thousands of tickets to the larger theaters with capacities of 5 to 10 thousand  seats. Hockey arenas and national baseball fields accommodate from 20 to 60  thousand patrons and the largest football fields have capacities from 60,000 to 100,000 fans. Go NFL!!!  The biggest seating venues are found in car racing with the Indy 500 holding upwards of 250,000 paying customers. Certainly very difficult to entertain that many folks :-)  

So, indeed the right venue can do a lot for a new or established artist. Sometimes just knowing that your favorite artist played there also is reward enough, ie CBGBs, Troubadour or House of blues.




WHERE ARE THE MOST VENUES? 






According to the www.TheIndieVenueBible.com there are more than 30,000 Venues, over 3,000 Booking Agents, with more than 3,000 festivals and 2,000 colleges that are always looking for a few good artists. They break the list into regions, states and cities as depicted below...  

REGION          STATES    Agents  Venues   Population            
Northeast   NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA, RI, VT, NH, ME, DE   400    5,200        65 Million     
Northcentral   IL, IN, KY, MI, WI, OH, IA has the most    290    4,900  50 Million     
Southeast     DC, FL, MD, GA, NC, SC, TN, AL, MS, VA 240  4,800         72 Million
Southcentral  TX, LA, OK, CO, AR, KS, MO    250  3,900  50 Million
Northwest   WA, AK, WY, MN, NE, ND, SD, ID, OR,MT120  2,500       26 Million
Southwest   CA, AZ, NV, UT, HI, NM   370  3,500       56 Million

Some of the best cities for artist have a mix of population densities and supply chain support. I am referring to cities that emulate the Music City.  Nashville, Tennessee  has more than 180 recording studios, 130 music publishers, 100 live music clubs and 80 Recoding labels. California and New York have similar reputations as music capitals but much larger populations and venues and the biggest music conferences take place in Miami with the Winter Music Conference as well as Texas with the South by South West at the start of every spring.  

Other metropolitan cities where the cultural diversity, per capita incomes and population densitties converge follow below.

Metropolis  State Musical Acts Population 
New York City  NY 115,767  8.0.M of 19M  
Los Angeles  CA 175,083  4 0 M of 37M 
San Diego  CA 46,267  2.0 M of 37M 
Austin  TX   35,953   1,0 M of 25M 
Chicago  IL 69,963  2.8 M of 12M
Phoenix  AZ 35,293  1.5 M of 06M 
Philadelphia  PA 45,508  1.5 M of 12M
Washington DC 41,518  600 K of 600K
Seattle  WA 37,224  600 K of 07M
Atlanta  GA 41,747  500 K of 10M
Las Vegas  NV 27,513  500 K of 03M
Miami  FL 33,637   2.3 M of 18M
Tampa  FL 28,339 300 K of 18M
Newark  NJ  26,443  300 K of 09M

research conducted using the Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov, the 2010 US Census at www.census.gov and The Indie Bible at www.indievenuebible.com.







WHICH VENUES GENERATE THE MOST REVENUE? 






Until you get signed by a record label like Sony, RCA, Mercury Nashville, MCA, Warner Brothers, Capitol, and Columbia or you get a publishing deal from the likes of Universal Music Publishing Warner-Chappell Music and you get famous you will not gain entry into the largest International or national stadiums and arenas hosting 10,000 seats or more. However, you or your manager can book shows during of-nights at local/regional festivals, bars, clubs and smaller parks and recreation venues like amphitheatres until you have the capital to invest on these larger venue. 

TOP INTERNATIONAL

Venues State Capacity Owner-Promoter
The O2 Arena UK - London 20,000 AEG
Barclays Center NY - Brooklyn 17,732 FCRC/AEG
The Wells Fargo Center PA - Philadelphia 19,500 Global Spectrum
Palais Omnisports  FR - Paris 17,000 AEG
Staples Center CA - Los Angeles 19,079 AEG

TOP NORTH AMERICAN VENUES

Venues / Promoters State Capacity Owner-Promoter
Barclays Center NY - Brooklyn 17,732 FCRC/AEG
Staples Center CA - Los Angeles 19,079 AEG
American Airlines Arena FL - Miami 19,600 Basketbal Properties/AEG
The Wells Fargo Center PA - Philadelphia 19,500 Global Spectrum
Sprint Center MO - Kansas City 18,500 Kansas City/AEG
Prudential Center NJ - Newark 18,711 Apollo/AEG

MOST SOUTH FLORIDA EVENTS 
 
Venues / Promoters State Capacity Owner-Promoter
Bi-Centennial Park FL - Miami 45,000 Miami-Dade County
Bank Atlantic Center FL - Sunrise 20,737 County-Sunrise Sports Ent
American Airlines Arena FL - Miami 19,600 County-Basketball Properties
Broward Center Au Rene FL - Ft-Lauderdale 02,700 Broward County
Dreyfoos Hall FL - Palm Beach 02,195 Palm Beach County
Fillmore Theater FL - Miami 02,500 County-LIVE NATION

research conducted using data reported by both Billboard magazine and PollStar at www.billboard.com www.pollstar.com






HOW MUCH DOES RENTING A VENUE COST?




Obviously the bigger the event the higher the investment and operational costs. Take for example the Ultra Music festival run by Russell Faibisch. Production costs might reach $25-30 million dollars this year but when he started it in 1999 at the age of 21 and still attending Florida International University, he borrowed 10k from the bank and drew 10,000 fans. In 2014 he is expected to attract 300,000 fans and 300 performers. It might generate as much as 25 million a day or 75 million dollars in economic activity for the city of Miami including the rental of  the Bayfront-Bicentennial Park and other city services. His event alone brings in 12% of the total revenue for the parks operator and $500,000 on top of the previous $600,000 he payed for almost 200 police officers to patrol the event. Rental for the park should last 15 days from set-up to breakdown and cost another $250,000 or 15K per day.  ( According to an NHL report on arenas the cost of operating an arena ranges from 6 million a year for small arenas 6K or less to 16 million for 20k+ which is equal to a monthly cost of 500k-1.3 million usd. The figures below are per day based on an NBA report wich found operational costs of $700-800 usd per seat for much larger arenas of 20-40k seats. Leasing payments for rental ranged from $3-7 million per year while there are many venues that publically price their venues online others handle it privately. )  

Below are a few estimates based on this research and other public rental information on some of South Florida's most popular  venues.

Venues / Promoters  Capacity Operator       Rental Fees

Bicentennial Park 45,000 Bayfront Park Trust       $7K-15K+
Bank Atlantic Center 20,737 Broward/SSE/BBT       $10k-40k +
American Airlines Arena 19,600 Basketball Properties    $20k-40K +
Broward Center Au Rene 2,700 Broward County      Greater of 10K or 10% tkts ( *  ** )
Dreyfoos Hall   2,195 Palm Beach County      $7k-15k + $1-3 tkt + fee ( * )
Fillmore Theater 2,500 LIVE NATION      Varies on Season and Style
Parker Playhouse 1,168 Broward County      $2.5k + 3.5% tkts + fee ( ** or $1K)

* Services Included :  Single performance of 4 hrs  with Box Office Services, House Management, Internal      Security, Existing Sound and Lighting Inventory.
** Extra Charges : Front office, Security and Cleaning $100-150 per hour,
4% of Credit Card processing 10% Group Sales 25% Merchandise
4% Production Fees + Drapes, Lights Sound, Spots, Mics, Pianos...
*** Not Included : Stage Labor, Extraordinary sound/lighting equipment rental, Props, Credit card       charges, Insurance, Sales Tax, Ticket Surcharge, Traffic Control (external),       Piano/Piano tuning, Spotlights $50-150 Fees.
**** Bar and Catering : Hosted Bar Beer & Wine $10 per hour per person top Shelf $20
  Catering HORS D’OEUVRES $30-50 per dz ( Butler, BBQ Luau
   20% Gratuity and sales Tax extra

AMIR14 : Research - The Venue Costs ( W28 of 52 )


INDUSTRY RESEARCH : VENUES 






HOW MUCH DOES RENTING A VENUE COST?

Obviously the bigger the event the higher the investment and operational costs. Take for example the Ultra Music festival run by Russell Faibisch. Production costs might reach $25-30 million dollars this year but when he started it in 1999 at the age of 21 and still attending Florida International University, he borrowed 10k from the bank and drew 10,000 fans. In 2014 he is expected to attract 300,000 fans and 300 performers. It might generate as much as 25 million a day or 75 million dollars in economic activity for the city of Miami including the rental of  the Bayfront-Bicentennial Park and other city services. His event alone brings in 12% of the total revenue for the parks operator and $500,000 on top of the previous $600,000 he payed for almost 200 police officers to patrol the event. Rental for the park should last 15 days from set-up to breakdown and cost another $250,000 or 15K per day.  ( According to an NHL report on arenas the cost of operating an arena ranges from 6 million a year for small arenas 6K or less to 16 million for 20k+ which is equal to a monthly cost of 500k-1.3 million usd. The figures below are per day based on an NBA report wich found operational costs of $700-800 usd per seat for much larger arenas of 20-40k seats. Leasing payments for rental ranged from $3-7 million per year while there are many venues that publically price their venues online others handle it privately. )  

Below are a few estimates based on this research and other public rental information on some of South Florida's most popular  venues.

Venues / Promoters  Capacity Operator       Rental Fees

Bicentennial Park 45,000 Bayfront Park Trust       $7K-15K+
Bank Atlantic Center 20,737 Broward/SSE/BBT       $10k-40k +
American Airlines Arena 19,600 Basketball Properties    $20k-40K +
Broward Center Au Rene 2,700 Broward County      Greater of 10K or 10% tkts ( *  ** )
Dreyfoos Hall   2,195 Palm Beach County      $7k-15k + $1-3 tkt + fee ( * )
Fillmore Theater 2,500 LIVE NATION      Varies on Season and Style
Parker Playhouse 1,168 Broward County      $2.5k + 3.5% tkts + fee ( ** or $1K)

* Services Included :  Single performance of 4 hrs  with Box Office Services, House Management, Internal      Security, Existing Sound and Lighting Inventory.
** Extra Charges : Front office, Security and Cleaning $100-150 per hour,
4% of Credit Card processing 10% Group Sales 25% Merchandise
4% Production Fees + Drapes, Lights Sound, Spots, Mics, Pianos...
*** Not Included : Stage Labor, Extraordinary sound/lighting equipment rental, Props, Credit card       charges, Insurance, Sales Tax, Ticket Surcharge, Traffic Control (external),       Piano/Piano tuning, Spotlights $50-150 Fees.
**** Bar and Catering : Hosted Bar Beer & Wine $10 per hour per person top Shelf $20
  Catering HORS D’OEUVRES $30-50 per dz ( Butler, BBQ Luau
   20% Gratuity and sales Tax extra

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Top Venues ( W27 of 52 )


INDUSTRY RESEARCH : VENUES 




WHICH VENUES GENERATE THE MOST REVENUE? 

Until you get signed by a record label like Sony, RCA, Mercury Nashville, MCA, Warner Brothers, Capitol, and Columbia or you get a publishing deal from the likes of Universal Music Publishing Warner-Chappell Music and you get famous you will not gain entry into the largest International or national stadiums and arenas hosting 10,000 seats or more. However, you or your manager can book shows during of-nights at local/regional festivals, bars, clubs and smaller parks and recreation venues like amphitheatres until you have the capital to invest on these larger venue. 

TOP INTERNATIONAL

Venues State Capacity Owner-Promoter
The O2 Arena UK - London 20,000 AEG
Barclays Center NY - Brooklyn 17,732 FCRC/AEG
The Wells Fargo Center PA - Philadelphia 19,500 Global Spectrum
Palais Omnisports  FR - Paris 17,000 AEG
Staples Center CA - Los Angeles 19,079 AEG

TOP NORTH AMERICAN VENUES

Venues / Promoters State Capacity Owner-Promoter
Barclays Center NY - Brooklyn 17,732 FCRC/AEG
Staples Center CA - Los Angeles 19,079 AEG
American Airlines Arena FL - Miami 19,600 Basketbal Properties/AEG
The Wells Fargo Center PA - Philadelphia 19,500 Global Spectrum
Sprint Center MO - Kansas City 18,500 Kansas City/AEG
Prudential Center NJ - Newark 18,711 Apollo/AEG

MOST SOUTH FLORIDA EVENTS 
 
Venues / Promoters State Capacity Owner-Promoter
Bi-Centennial Park FL - Miami 45,000 Miami-Dade County
Bank Atlantic Center FL - Sunrise 20,737 County-Sunrise Sports Ent
American Airlines Arena FL - Miami 19,600 County-Basketball Properties
Broward Center Au Rene FL - Ft-Lauderdale 02,700 Broward County
Dreyfoos Hall FL - Palm Beach 02,195 Palm Beach County
Fillmore Theater FL - Miami 02,500 County-LIVE NATION

research conducted using data reported by both Billboard magazine and PollStar at www.billboard.com www.pollstar.com

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Venue Locations ( W26 of 52 )


INDUSTRY RESEARCH : VENUES 



WHERE ARE THE MOST VENUES? 

According to the www.TheIndieVenueBible.com there are more than 30,000 Venues, over 3,000 Booking Agents, with more than 3,000 festivals and 2,000 colleges that are always looking for a few good artists. They break the list into regions, states and cities as depicted below...  

REGION          STATES    Agents Venues   Population          
Northeast    NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA, RI, VT, NH, ME, DE   400   5,200        65 Million  
Northcentral IL, IN, KY, MI, WI, OH, IA has the most   290    4,900  50 Million  
Southeast DC, FL, MD, GA, NC, SC, TN, AL, MS, VA   240 4,800         72 Million
Southcentral TX, LA, OK, CO, AR, KS, MO   250 3,900  50 Million
Northwest WA, AK, WY, MN, NE, ND, SD, ID, OR, MT 120 2,500       26 Million
Southwest CA, AZ, NV, UT, HI, NM   370 3,500       56 Million

Some of the best cities for artist have a mix of population densities and supply chain support. I am referring to cities that emulate the Music City.  Nashville, Tennessee  has more than 180 recording studios, 130 music publishers, 100 live music clubs and 80 Recoding labels. California and New York have similar reputations as music capitals but much larger populations and venues and the biggest music conferences take place in Miami with the Winter Music Conference as well as Texas with the South by South West at the start of every spring.  

Other metropolitan cities where the cultural diversity, per capita incomes and population densitties converge follow below.

Metropolis State Musical Acts Population
New York City NY 115,767 8.0.M of 19M
Los Angeles CA 175,083 4 0 M of 37M
San Diego CA 46,267 2.0 M of 37M
Austin TX   35,953   1,0 M of 25M
Chicago IL 69,963 2.8 M of 12M
Phoenix AZ 35,293 1.5 M of 06M
Philadelphia PA 45,508 1.5 M of 12M
Washington DC 41,518 600 K of 600K
Seattle WA 37,224 600 K of 07M
Atlanta GA 41,747 500 K of 10M
Las Vegas NV 27,513 500 K of 03M
Miami FL 33,637   2.3 M of 18M
Tampa FL 28,339 300 K of 18M
Newark NJ 26,443 300 K of 09M

research conducted using the Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov, the 2010 US Census at www.census.gov and The Indie Bible at www.indievenuebible.com.


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Venue Types ( W25 of 52 )

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : VENUES 



WHAT CAN A VENUE DO FOR AN ARTIST? 

Performing at the right venue can be the difference between a huge payday and cancelling a tour, both the artist and the promoters have a lot to lose if they make the mistake of playing a venue that's not appropriate.   

There are many different categories to consider with capacities, stage types, costs and popularity. Up and coming unsigned local artists generally play at bars in their local communities. These venues tend to have capacities of 50 to 250 and might have an open mic night or a house band. These venues are a great place to develop your stage presence and get used to the logistics of performing live. The income is not the major driving force at this stage unless it's the weekend and even then it will probably just cover the night's expenses. 

When a local act gets tired of opening or closing a local bar and they have a  big enough fan base and budget they will venture into moving to a venue like a casino, ballroom, auditorium, hall, playhouse or even a hotel, market or zoo where they might have an audience of 250-1000. If the band can deliver the entire audience themselves they may be able to run their own shows but this is rather difficult to do while playing at the same time. At this stage the band can begin to build the stamina and momentum needed to master their own music and get a manager to help them grow.
Now, the more enterprising artists will use a manager or booking agent from the start and provided their chops are up to par will get entry into larger community sponsored events like performing arts centers, county fairs, small theaters, cabarets, pavilions, band-shells, amphitheaters or outdoor festivals which offer multiple bands and stages. Local festivals will need to fill 3 or 4 stages and can potentially drive 1,000 to 5,000 attendees providing the opening acts with a large audience.  Entry into these festivals can cost a band from $500 to $1500 but it is a well worth expense as they can exploit their attendance socially, gain new fans while making themselves available to possible label and publishing scouts at the festival. Unfortunately, these events are held yearly only so if the band can plan ahead the momentum from these events can lead to A&R representation or publisher interest if nothing else it can lead to participating in even larger festivals like SXSW in Texas or Boonaro in Tennessee.

Moving to the big shows requires that you be signed and managed by a large label or publisher that can sell thousands of tickets to the larger theaters with capacities of 5 to 10 thousand  seats. Hockey arenas and national baseball fields accommodate from 20 to 60  thousand patrons and the largest football fields have capacities from 60,000 to 100,000 fans. Go NFL!!!  The biggest seating venues are found in car racing with the Indy 500 holding upwards of 250,000 paying customers. Certainly very difficult to entertain that many folks :-)  

So, indeed the right venue can do a lot for a new or established artist. Sometimes just knowing that your favorite artist played there also is reward enough, ie CBGBs, Troubadour or House of blues.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

AMIR14 : Research - The Product ( W21-24 of 52 )


 2014 SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL SEASON

Steamiest Festivals in August 
 

INDUSTRY RESEARCH : ARTISTS 

WHAT DOES AN ARTIST DO? 

So... hopefully your mind took a little trip down melody lane to a more relaxing place than all this work stuff. ;-( I know the feeling. Why do you think I chose the music industry as my first report?  

Now, I think you are all pretty aware of what an artist does and the website www.celebritytalent.net has a great tool to gage their value, but have you ever considered how many people are involved in the supply chain that supports them?

I want to detail the compensations for those folks as well.

Consider that the music industry is a leading indicator for the health of the economy in general. According to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis www.bea.gov and the National Endowment for the Arts www.arts.gov, its contribution to GDP is almost  5 percent and employs more than 3 million people with the largest share being motion picture and video industries at 300K employees. In 2013 the government will classify R&D for the National Endowment as an investment and not an expense for the first time in its existance.
Intellectual property patents and copyright account for 5 trillion dollars in USA economic GDP publishers creating, producing, distributing, broadcasting and exhibiting copyright material contributed 1 Trillion dollars in GDP and account for 100-200 billion in exports while employing 5 million workers. Arts and Culture account for 3% of America's GDP according to the National endowment for the arts, even so, it is common for many artists to struggle until they become profitably marketable and signed. The majority of the biggest profits go to a few of the top artists but the supporting and supply chain staff can make still make a comfortable living.

Below are a few of the Bureau of Labor Statistics associated with the music and entertainment industry should the lifestyle of a new artist be less than comfortable... 

Code     Employment Category                                   # Workers Incomes         Hourly

13-1011 Agents, Artists Managers, Performers, Athletes             11,770   088,260         $44
27-1010 Artists and Related Workers                                 84,990   073,980         $37
39-5091 Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance                 1,950   067,580         $34
27-2042 Musicians and Singers                                      42,100   062,000         $31
27-2000 Entertainers and Performers, Sports Related             489,840   056,890         $28
27-0000 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media   1,750,130   054,490         $27
27-2099 Entertainers and Performers, Sports Related               16,630   044,000         $22
27-2031 Dancers                                                        11,390   044,390         $22
27-2012 Producers and Directors                                    87,010   041,680         $21
27-2040 Musicians, Singers, and Related Workers broad            67,050   030,000         $15
27-2031 Dancers                                                        11,390   020,000         $10


research conducted using the Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov


HOW DOES AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST GET PAYED?

 

A BUNDLE OF RIGHTS has been granted by the United States that include the right to profit from your Intellectual Property creations,  so let's explore them...

COPYRIGHTS are the most productive way for an artist to profit exponentially for their complete works until the LIFE of the last surviving author ends PLUS 70 years at which point the work is placed in the public domain.  Songs, song books, plays, pictures, images, photos, recordings, lyrics and melodies can be registered at the Library of Congress with as little as $35 usd or expedited ASAP for about $800 usd. The fees cover standard forms for (C) Lead Sheets of lyrics and melody registered as unpublished or published singles or compilations (SR) Sound Recording 30 second hooks  or fully mastered recordings on contract from record labels, producers and independent creators (PH) Phonograph Recording with lyrics and music  (R) Trademark titles and slogans for a limited time (P) Patent ideas or inventions and literary works.

REPRODUCED (M) Master Record or Master Use license for Music Labels ) 
DISTRIBUTED  ( Lend,  Rent or Lease) 
PERFORMED  (PRO) Performance Rights Organizations License Non-Broadcast Public view
DISPLAYED  Publishing rights Mechanicals, Synchronization licenses, Grand Rights for Theater and New Media  
BROADCASTED (S) Synch license or Blanket license for Radio, Film, TV, New Media
DERIVATIVES  Permission to create derivatives from an original work 

UNIONS like SAG, AFTRA, AFL/CIO charge a fee to protect an artist's rights & police the industry.

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS like BMI, ASCAP & SEASAC manage royalties.

PUBLISHERS like Harry Fox Agency Acquire 25-50% of your Rights for 1 yr and exploit the works charging for performance licenses in public or broadcasts of radio, television or new media, mechanical licenses for other artists or companies that want to use the original work for advertising, marketing, printing. They also cover re-recording of the originals on major or independent labels and cover albums. They even represent software companies. 

ROYALTIES are Collected and disbursed  by the PROs, Publishers and Exchanges. 
SoundExchange and SoundCloud have rate cards for Broadcast fees ranging from $49-$2000. BMI, ASCAP SESAC and Harry Fox have Mechanical fees ranging from .09c per 100k printed
Harry Fox has Grand Rights Performance/Synch Licenses fees of  9.1c < 5 min or 1.7c per min 

CREATIVE COMMONS is a new way to protect your ownership and rights that allows works to be shared  freely. They are beginning to MONETIZE this classification method by using (NC) Non-Commercial use (SA) Share Alike (ND) share with No Derivatives allowed (CC) (BY) to Give Credit to Authors for their work.  

WHO ARE THE BIGGEST ARTISTS?

 

The Biggest artists are those that get signed by a major record label and have the full financial support and expert A&R teams of the biggest promoters like Live Nation or AEG. These mega stars are offered 360 deals for 5-10 years where the label handles every aspect.  New artist already signed by a label without a 360 can still work a publishing deal known as a Development Advance and it can range in the 100K-200K usd area. Independent artists under contract  with publishers like Harry Fox directly can expect 10k-40k usd in advance and 50% of royalties until the advance is re-couped at which point they get 75% while the publishers still get 25%. These are usually 1-2 year deals with an option to renew. 

TOP 20 INTERNATIONAL TOURS

BonJovi, Beyonce, Pink, Justin Beiber, Bruce Springsteen,
Rihanna, CirqueDuSolei-MJ, Taylor Swift, DepecheMode, One Direction
Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Muse, Fleetwood Mac, Kenney Chesney
Roger Waters, Bruno Mars, Jay-Z/JT, Elton John, Cirque DuSolei-Corteo

The number one artist internationally was BonJovi generating $259 million usd across 97 cities and 102 shows Internationally. He was able to keep the price down at $95 usd and averaged a total of 27k tickets per show or $2.6 million gross. Beyonce racked up $188 million in ticket sales while attending to 77 cities. Her average ticket price was $111 usd brought in around 21k fans to every show, for a per show gross of $2.4 million in sales. Bruce Springsteen and CircqueDuSolei both managed to reach the 4 million dollar mark per show by filling their venues to the tune of 39K and 34K fans per event.

TOP 10 NORTH AMERICAN TOURS 

Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac
One Direction, Luke Bryan, Zach Brown, Bruno Mars and Beyonce

The number one tour was Taylor Swift as she generated a total of $112 million dollars in ticket sales and toured 47 cities adding a second date in almost half of her cities with an average ticket price of $85 usd and 28k tickets sold per show. BonJovi came in second with $107 million in sales 58 cities visited but only 4 second day additions while his average ticket price was $95 usd he only had 19k fans per show. The most expensive show in the USA last year was that of the Rolling Stones at $226 average ticket price they  managed to bring in 38K attendees per concert bringing in a total of $88 million usd for the entire 11 city tour ( an average of $8 million per show ) 

research conducted using Billboard.com and  Pollstar.com.


WHERE ARE THE BIGGEST ARTISTS? 

 

INTERNATIONAL 

According to the Pollstar.com 2013 ticket sales matrix the top ten international artists toured Europe in April, May and June. North America through August and Latin America in September and finishing the year down under in Australia through November when most tours come to an end.

Internationally BonJovi, Beyonce, Pink, Justin Bieber, Bruce Springsteen Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Depeche Mode, One Direction and Paul mcCartney took the top ten grossing musical concert tours. Together they averaged 69 cities and 96 shows per artist while the median ticket price was around $94 usd.  154 million was the average gross sales per artist for the year and further segmented into a per show total of  23k tickets sold and 2.3 million in sales. 

These artists had many single city/country concerts but most had various events in countries like the United Kingdom, France as well as Germany and Ireland with Australia becoming a great english speaking market for all averaging 3 nights per artist. Latin America as expected  had Brazil and Mexico with the most concerts, as it should be in relation to their large populations.


NORTH AMERICA 

North American tours tend to launch in March and April just in time for Spring Break and go on till the end of the summer in August.  A seasoned artist will have between 25 and 50 shows per year.
Now, for the 2013 American circuit it was Taylor Swift, BonJovi, Kenny Chesney, The Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac taking the top five spots, together they averaged 40 cities and 46 shows per artist while the median ticket price was around $118 usd for the top 5. This was heavily skewed by the $226 usd ticket for the Rolling Stones tour. However, I am using the top 5 not the top 10 as with the worldwide charts but still get a similar $92 million usd as the average gross sales per artist for the year with a per show total of  23k tickets sold  and 2.9 million usd in sales.

Anyway, while the cultural diversity and sheer populations of states like California, Florida and New York  demands multiple dates it was the Northeast and their 100 million+ audience that was hard to resist for any artist in any genre. The cultural diversity, per capita incomes and large metropolitan centers with college and university concentrations made the North East states a promoters dream. States like Massachusetts and Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania and DC who welcomed every musical genre from classical to rock and hip hop and of-course good old country. 

Now don't get me wrong there will always be a descent market in the South East and Mid Central parts of the country for a little fiddle but traditionally these are states like North and South Carolina,  Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.