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Live Nation US looking to cut up-front pay outs to talent
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 21 September 2010
Hmm, live’s the future of the music industry they used to say. Well, it’s no secret that the bubble has burst for the live sector in the US, and Live Nation has suffered more than most, with investors still rather panicky about the live music conglom’s short-term future, despite assurances from the top guard there that the company is now set to meet its albeit lowered financial projections for the current financial year.
According to Ticket News, Michael Rapino has admitted that the slump in live entertainment ticket sales that occurred earlier this year surprised him and his fellow Live Nation execs, but added that the whole experience should have been something of a wake up call for artists, managers and booking agents too – “the big, upfront paydays of the past are over”.
Rapino: “Have we started [negotiations] by saying we’re not going to pay you that much because we don’t feel we can sell enough tickets at that amount? And, is that leading to us getting some push back [from artists]? Yes. But, are we getting closer to the deals we want? Yes”.
Of course, the UK live industry has not suffered the slump that has occurred Stateside. Yet. Whether UK promoters should be prepared for a similar downturn, and what they might do to prevent that from happening, is the topic being debated at a MusicTank Think Tank event later this week in London – details at
www.musictank.co.uk/events/improving-the-live-experience
