Mike Evans, president of arenas; Cole Gahagan, Ticketmaster; Gerry Barad, COO, Global Touring; and Brad Wavra, SVP, North America Touring, all with Live Nation, share tips on scoring bookings during IAVM's VenueConnect. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM PORTLAND, ORE. — Live Nation’s mantra is to lengthen artists’ careers and tours, making room for more secondary and tertiary market venues in today's concert scene. How venues can attract those dates was the subject of a wide-ranging discussion during VenueConnect here July 26-29.
Cole Gahagan, Ticketmaster, moderated the session on trends and changes in the industry with Brad Wavra, SVP, North America Touring; Gerry Barad, COO, Global Touring, and Mike Evans, president of arenas, all with Live Nation. Constant improvement and increased fan amenities, a good financial deal and an outstanding box office manager were among those choices that give a venue the edge, they said.
“Live Nation has a large database, but we want your database engaged,” Wavra said.
Technology is better today and shows can be repriced on the fly without taking the whole system down to do it. The ability to do dynamic pricing is also an edge in the current concert marketplace.
“You can be smart if you want to pay attention. Does your building have a box office manager who pays attention? I have 100 shows, you have three. Tell me how I’m doing on your three shows,” Wavra advised.
Barad concurred that “the strongest point in your building is your box office manager. There’s a guy at Madison Square Garden who really understands what he does. Even in smaller markets, the people who pay attention get our attention.”
The box office manager who understands and interprets the numbers “wil make all of you GMs look so much better,” Wavra added.
Centralized buying changed the concert business, Wavra said of the last 10 years. “The idea of one guy or one team of guys grabbing onto a career and becoming a promoter for the world, or North America in my case, means you can sit down and strategize the message they want to deliver, the path they want to take, and determine the best way to integrate that idea with you arena guys.” It’s all about the band’s vision of the fan experience.
Barad pointed out that the world is smaller and more artists have a global reach. Getting the message out is much easier with social media and everything else, but that also means that while successes are more visible, so are failures. Everyone knows what happened this morning already, Wavra added. “We have to be more right more often.”
Live Nation’s job is to lengthen the artists’ careers, they all agreed, and extending tours from 30 to 40 or 50 dates is a priority in doing that. Once the tour is up and running, keeping it running as long as possible is a career sustainer.
That marks a change for Live Nation, that used to concentrate on the top 70 markets, Evans pointed out. “Now that we are moving on all cylinders, we need to grow our arena business. We’re all receiving that message loud and clear. We’ll see more and more of that; let’s find those next 15 markets we can rely on.”
Artists understand now that it’s all in one pot and evens out in the long run over the course of the tour. But that doesn’t mean promoters aren’t mercenaries. “The guy who has the best deal is going to get it. Bands want to get paid. Our system is set up so we operate through our local offices. The best building deals in that region get the most attention. It’s simple math,” Wavra said. “We’re asking for in-kinds, shared revenues, this, that and everything, and it’s the nature of the business. We’re trying to figure out a way for everybody to spread the wealth, share the risk.”
Beyond the deal, it’s about marketing assets, Evans added.
Some buildings have even started using hockey dashers for advertising. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, was singled out for that, posting a promotion for the concert on the hockey dashers during a game that the manager of the band was watching.
Live Nation promoters expect the venue to know the market, how many universities, how many kids, how to reach them, and existing relationships. “It’s a little work. Your digital guy, your social media guy, they are important to you,” Wavra said. “They need to develop the new strategy so when you stand up and say I have 10 universities and 200,000 students and I can talk to them, it gives you an edge.”
“Next to your gut, data is king,” Wavra said. “Research is either going to validate your gut or make you question your gut. The nuances of deciding cities 30-40 are kind of based on data for me: airplay, album sales, whatever I can glean about your market makeup in terms of demographics. Believe it or not, we do look at that.”
Sports is also a big part of it, Barad added. “If your team is winning, your building is more effective for me. The fanbase is probably more active and willing to come down to your building.”
Artists are more flexible today in terms of routing and pricing, the panelists agreed. Rescaling the house is now an option, thanks to technology and changing perceptions. They universally preferred scaling the house to one-price shows, though it is an artist’s call.
There are wealthy people in Boise and Missoula, too, Barad said. “At the end of the day, it’s how many of them are there? One price is lazy bulls--t. I want to make sure the guy who makes $40,000 a year can take his two kids. We’re charging more and charging less.”
Barad also suggested making the onsale an event, a big deal. Make it cool. That’s another differentiator for a building. “Barrie Marshall is great at that,” he said.
Resale continues to be an issue.
“Selling the tickets once is my job,” Wavra said. “If someone is going to sell it twice, it’s done. The deal with the band wasn’t predicated on that money. The first sale is how it’s built.”
That said, they would still like to share in revenue from the secondary market and TM+ (Ticketmaster Plus) is geared to do that, Gahagan said, noting the system to put all available tickets on the Ticketmaster platform.
But when the sale goes awry and someone buys a bogus ticket, they universally agreed the customer should be turned away.
“As coldhearted as it is to turn away a teenage girl dying in front of you, you have to say no,” Wavra said. “The band has made a moral decision to say no. We tell everyone you have to buy from the building. If you buy it from Craigslist, it sucks. It sucks to be you, but I can’t let you in because the kid next to you did the right thing.”
“It’s tough love,” Barad added. “I told you not to put your fork in the toaster and you did.”
Discussion turned to the band and fan experience in the building and a few highlights were noted. The Bradley Center in Milwaukee has over-the-top catering backstage, with ice sculptures, string quartets and waiter service. Good food for the customers is essential as well. “If you don’t serve food that’s good to eat, don’t invite me over,” Barad said.
In Portland, the venue drives the artist and entourage to Nike headquarters in Columbia where they buy product at a deep discount at the company store. Bands remember and love that. Highlighting a local enterprise is good marketing and builds a venue’s identity, they suggested. At the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., which has no sports teams, they built a golf simulator in the back room and at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., they’ve had an ice cream set up backstage that every artist loves.
“Having a sh---y venue right now is inexcusable,” Barad said. “Part of the DNA of going to a show is that you are going to eat or drink something. And keep your place clean. I’ve been in so many venues with old tube TVs, no HD TV. For a venue not to upgrade into 2000 or something, is inexcusable. Don’t invite me into your old house. Upgrade enough that it’s comfortable.”
Interviewed for this story: Mike Evans, (610) 784-5447; Gerry Barad, (416) 960-7603; Brad Wavra, (310) 867-7000