Louis Messina Strikes Back

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My head is spinning.

First Greg Wells, now Louis Messina?

Used to be you denied, denied, denied. Now you just admit your behavior and throw it back at the accuser, saying you're innocent and really, it's the accuser's fault!

Greg Wells admits parts of Mika's show are on hard drive. Now, Louis Messina says Taylor Swift's deal with American Express, ultimately allowing cardholders to buy the best seats first, is a good thing. Huh?

So, AmEx buys full page ads in major newspapers. Is that really the problem? That no one knows that Taylor Swift is going on tour? They've got to get the word out?

Chances are, if you need that level of advertising, you're not gonna be able to fill the building. And that's not the case with Taylor Swift. She can sell every damn ticket over and over again.

Then, when Taylor Swift says she wants tickets to be $20, so all her fans can go to the show, Mr. Messina says: "Taylor, you can't do that 'cause you can't afford that. It would cost you so much money." Huh?

Only a promoter could think this way. What he's really saying is, if you don't charge more, you'll make LESS money, and I'LL make less money! Notice he doesn't say Taylor is going to LOSE money! Because she's not!

Listen, Taylor is better than most. This is not about her. The whole ticketing fracas is not about individual acts. It's a cancer endemic to our industry that is only harming us. Because you lose the trust of the consumer and you have no business.

Talk to anybody putting on shows right now. Business is TERRIBLE! Don't listen to the press reports. The public is staying home. And acts are not lowering their prices. And those on the talent side want to make as much money as ever, even though recorded music sales in most cases have tanked and the public has little money. This is a recipe for ongoing business success?

It's when Louis says there should be a government solution that I get pissed. Just like the government should solve the file-trading problem, which has gone on for a decade. Business problems require business solutions.

The scalpers are a problem, but they're not THE problem!

The problem originates with the talent.

The talent could charge a fortune for the tickets. But they're worried about blowback, the public's perception of them. They don't want to APPEAR greedy, so they revert to subterfuge. So, they don't LOOK greedy, even though they ARE greedy.

That's what scalping your own tickets is all about. That's what AmEx deals are all about. In many cases, that's what fan clubs are all about.

Heinous Ticketmaster fees, if not kicked right back to the artist, which happens in the case of many stars, go to the promoter, so he can make some money. Artists could include the fees in the overall price, eliminating customer anger and confusion, but they don't want to appear greedy, they'd rather that Ticketmaster take the heat.

So what do we need?

An all-in price. Having the customer angry at Ticketmaster and Live Nation does not bode well for the concert industry in general, because this is where the transaction takes place.

Acts either have to charge fair market price for the tickets, or insure that the true fans get ahold of the good tickets at what is essentially a price below fair market value.

If you want to sit in the front row, pay a grand, maybe two. But don't tell everybody they can sit in the front row for twenty five bucks when in reality all the good seats have been siphoned off, sold to those who are willing to pay more.

No one expects a BMW for the price of a Hyundai. Price the tickets fairly, at their real value, and scalping is to a great degree eliminated. Then again, the acts are fearful of charging a grand for a seat, they're afraid the public is going to see them like they see the bankers on Wall Street. Unfortunately, this would not be inaccurate, both are incredibly greedy (although the banker does make more).

Or, institute systems that allow the fan to get a good seat at a cheap price. Like putting the name on the ticket, a la Nine Inch Nails.

Now don't think everybody involved is stupid. Greedy, yes, but not stupid. Irving Azoff is aware that scalpers use low value credit cards to get around paperless ticketing. He couldn't get the credit card companies to play ball with him, they couldn't see the problem. But now they do.

And Irving says he's got the technology and the willingness to show exactly what tickets are on sale for a gig, and will soon have the ability to auction them off/variable price them like airline tickets.

But instituting the procedures and having acts use them is something different. Does an act really want to let people know that 1/20th of the tickets are actually available to the general public on the on sale date?

I say if you've toiled hard and long in the alley, you're entitled to make the dough. That's your choice, charge up the yin-yang. Or, leave a little in order to insure future good will, keeping the relationship with your fans by allowing them good seats at low prices. But the acts want it both ways, they want to maintain the good will and make all the money. And that's where I've got a problem.

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11487313

Tuesday night's report: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11481431

Felice Is Hooked on RueLaLa.com

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Felice is hooked on RueLaLa.com.

In today's "Wall Street Journal" it is revealed that Saks Fifth Avenue, arbiter and seller of first line, high-priced wares, is going into competition with RueLala, and Gilt.com and HauteLook.com. In other words, Saks is going to sell out of season, oftentimes one year old, yet fully desirable merchandise, at a deep discount one item at a time with a countdown clock. Buy now, on impulse, or experience the agony of losing a bargain.

I too am a flash site devotee. I go to Tramdock.com. Where they purvey skiing equipment, one item at a time, at a deep discount. Right this very second, they're selling Scott skis at 55% off. One color, two sizes. Buy 'em now or...

Usually, flash sites will send you a daily e-mail (opt-in, you can always check the site yourself). Telling you about the deals that will unfold in the next twenty four hours. On hot items, shoppers keep refreshing their browser, divining when that one desirable item in the size and color they want will be revealed.

Everybody loves a bargain. Everybody loves a deal on something worthwhile.

And the stuff is always good on these sites. It's not bargain basement crap. Sometimes it's overstock of a special model that turned out to have less desirability than retailers thought. Sometimes, the new model has changes and the old one has to be blown out. And if you receive your item and don't like it, you can return it for free.

In other words, shopping is fun. Addictive. You end up buying stuff you didn't even know about, never mind had a desire to acquire.

Like concert tickets.

How low does the price have to go before you take a flier?

You've heard of this band, would you check them out for ten bucks instead of the seventy five it takes a true-blue fan to sit down front?

If most of the concert tickets go unsold, why not find innovative ways to move them?

The artists and agents are standing in the way. Contracts usually forbid these momentary deep discounts. But why? Do acts really not want people to see them? And, if a casual fan comes to see them is the act so bad the newbie will laugh, or be converted on the spot?

Instead of using Goldstar, instead of papering, sell the unsold inventory at a deep discount, via a flash site.

Can you imagine concertgoers all over America checking multiple times a day for deals? Signing up for e-mail to be told what will go on sale that day? Imagine what else you can sell/inform them of in said e-mail!

And we all know, the quicker you click, the better your seat.

Felice found out about RueLaLa from her sister. I found out about Tramdock from EpicSki.com, a forum for skiers. I kept hearing retailers bitch and consumers be thrilled. I finally had to check it out for myself. I bought a waxing iron at deep discount. When I saw I pair of Smith ski goggles, the exact ones I use, at almost 70% off, I immediately contacted Felice, to tell her to log on and buy them right now!

Furthermore, the customer service is great. It was unclear which goggle lens to purchase, but the Tramdock person who e-mailed advice had used them all! These flash sites are not adversarial, they're like a giant club, everybody in it together to get a deal.

Flash sites are coming to concert ticketing.

It's just a matter of when.

Is the touring industry gonna be like the record industry, afraid of change, afraid of new technology, afraid of taking a risk? Or is it going to experiment with the hottest sales technique for unsold inventory today?

You launch it, the public will spread the word. It's not about advertising, costs are especially low, and in the concert sphere there's no issue of returns.

If you want a guaranteed good seat, log on to Ticketmaster at 10 A.M. on Saturday morning. Better yet, get an American Express card and join the fan club. But if you don't need to go to the concert, but if the deal gets attractive enough you will, shouldn't the industry cater to you too? You know you're not getting the best tickets, but you're getting a deal. And if you don't think people are into deals, you never talk to anybody. And I can't tell you how many acts I ended up loving after taking a flier on promos in the record store bin in the seventies. Shall we start with Karla Bonoff, Be Bop Deluxe, Alan Parsons...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703574604574501741691272378.html

Image by midnightglory via Flickr

That's why I'm here. In Nashville. I'm speaking at the International Entertainment Buyers Association. Or, I just did. You missed it!

What a fascinating crew. So many of the buyers are from fairs.

I just got a long lecture on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. A bunch of 'ropin and 'tyin and then live entertainment, twenty nights straight! They've had Rascal Flatts, ZZ Top, the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift...

In other words, there's a whole 'nother world out there between L.A. and New York. Which might want to see people like Phil Vassar. Who performed just before me in the ballroom. I'm a fan. But he looks like a guy you'd be sippin' a beer with down on the dock. No harm meant, it's just that I expected some wiry guy who barely ever saw daylight. Or maybe it's just that it's a disconnect to experience someone so talented, who can sing and write, who looks completely normal. It's a beautiful thing.

The way the band plays. The way Phil works the audience.

You see in country music, being able to play is not enough. You've got to entertain! You've got to sing for your supper. Or, as Chubby Checker said last night, it's all about the audience. Yes, he was angling for gigs, but it was fascinating to see him work this inside crowd. He got 'em up on stage twisting, singing along, laughing, having a good time. And a good time is what it's all about, right?

Well, I'm not sure it's about a good time anymore.

Is it a good time buying a car? It's so expensive. You're afraid of being ripped off. If you make a mistake, you're not going to be back in the market for years. Kind of like buying concert tickets. Huh?

I just had a fascinating conversation with gentlemen who run an amphitheatre in Virginia. They spoke of the problems outside the metropolis.

They have a deal with Ticketmaster because so many of their customers pay cash. Ticketmaster has outlets, where they take cash. Yup, you may hate the ticket fees, but Ticketmaster is not always the bastard.

Then again, like Live Nation in New Jersey, these promoters charge a parking fee on every ticket. A buck. It's a pass through, goes straight to the city, for cops, other infrastructure. So when customers arrive, they don't have to pay, they just park.

But getting customers is not that easy. Because people just don't know about the gig!

That's their number one problem, getting the word out.

And they said that radio, newspapers and TV don't work.

In other words, they've got a marketing budget, they just don't know where to spend the money!

The days of tying in with a radio station and having the word get out are done. Now we're in the murky land of social media.

Yup, these guys have been FORCED to employ Facebook and Twitter. Because that's where the people are. No one's paying attention to old media.

You've got to have someone under twenty five working all these angles. He could be your number one employee!

And then there's pricing.

They talked about a Coldplay show, not theirs, where lawn tickets were ultimately blown out cheaply. People complained. Sure, they were mad at Live Nation, but they were really mad at the act!

Ticketmaster may have shielded the artists for a while, the public may have been too stupid to know performers have been scalping their own tickets, but the artists are now taking the hit for discount tickets. If you paid thirty dollars to sit on the lawn and somebody else paid ten, you're pissed! You may never want to see Coldplay again.

So who's going to fix this problem?

It's got to start with the acts. The days of exorbitant guarantees are done. The acts can't afford the blowback. I can't get the tickets I want, they never went on sale, and now someone paying less than me is sitting closer than me? Huh?

So far, promoters have been taking the hit. Live Nation is selling discounted tickets to fill their buildings while the artist has sat on the sideline and laughed. No longer.

That's the story of 2009. How the act suddenly has less power.

Kind of like the movie business. The $20 million paydays are through. There's just not enough money left. DVD sales have tanked. If Live Nation, if no promoter can survive, who is going to pay all these acts?

We don't have a promoter crisis, we've got an act crisis!

Sure, the promoters have issues, but the acts are not immune. They've got to give promoters tools to work with. Like lower guarantees and a share of the upside.

The major problem is getting people in the building.

Some day there might be a site telling everybody who's in town. But so far, no Internet location has broken through. Because every listing site is about money first and the customer last. Too much advertising, too much focus on profit. The Google way used to be the music business way. Build it first, figure out how to monetize it last. Be a great band first, figure out how to make all the dough last.

Speaking of dough, these Virginia promoters had multiple jobs. The days of grand slams in concert promotion are done. The margins are too thin. One of these guys is both a promoter and a manager!

The glory days of the music business are history. They'll only return when the glory days of music come back. That's in process. But it's going to take a very long time, especially if the usual suspects have their way...baby boomers who focus on getting rich first and care about the consumer last, if at all.