When it Rains it Pours

Billboard reports that North American attendance and dollars are down double digits in 2007. The Police grossed over $212 million this year but the harsh reality is there are not too many rising acts that will be able to fill these shoes and be capable of drawing big numbers and huge crowds. The concert industry is so top heavy with older acts and reunion tours and the imbalance could lead to multiple series of future down years. They make the point that the big acts have no interest in 360 deals and the current acts that do sell music don’t do well on the road.

The labels are working with skeleton crews these days. Yesterday Geffen and Interscope joined Def Jam and Sony/BMG when they laid off 15 staff members.

We all know the industry is in bad shape across the boards. The focus must be on fresh new quality music and discovering new talent or there will be no business to worry about. With all these cuts is there anyone left to do it?

‘North American gross concert dollars for 2007 are down 10.2% to $2.6 billion, and concert attendance is down 19.2% to 51 million.’-Billboard