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Last panel! Live coverage resumes... Digital Music Forum West in Los Angeles.
5:00pm – 5:45pm
PANEL 7: TOURING:
Can Technology Save the Concert Business?
Billboard calls it the “Cruel Summer” because ticket sales are down and tour dates have been cancelled begging the question: what needs to happen for the concert and touring business to get back on track? While there are a lot places to the point the finger from the economy to a broken secondary market for ticket sales, this panel will address this question by focusing on the relationship between the consumer and technology, looking at how promoters and artists who embrace the mobile Internet and social networking can create a better and more compelling experience for the new digital generation of concert goers. From social networks to text messaging to broadband video to online recommendation and billing systems, technology has the ability to enhance the live music experience in new ways that are just starting to be realized. This panel will discuss how savvy promoters (from small clubs to large arenas) can utilize technology to better connect with fans and promote, produce and create new connected experiences and opportunities around live events.
Panelists
Nic Adler, Owner, The Roxy
Shannon Connolly, VP, Digital Music Strategy, MTV Networks Music Group
Jeremy Welt, VP, Strategic Initiatives, Warner Bros. Records
Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful
Aaron Grosky, President, Control Room
Moderator: Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group
Glazier: Discusses KISS tie-in, fans decide which band gets to open for KISS. Many rock bands say, help us open for KISS, creates a lot of energy and exposure ahead of the show.
another concept: which cities really wanted the tour? well, that's where the band played depending on fan votes.
Central concept is to get fans involved in the process, not just getting marketed to.
...from the Twitter stream: @hocusopus: "Value the $8/hour concert ticket buyer and increase THEIR experience..."
Adler: inconsistency in pricing and other details have hurt the concert experience. But, layering more into the ticket purchase - adding to the ticket purchase. "Right when you press the button the buy it, you have something to show for it..."
What about changes in the weather - the concert ecosystem. Packaging, pricing changes, Live Nation + Ticketmaster, etc.
Connolly: onus is on promoters, artists, venues to try new things - cites U2 live stream, Radiohead's show in Prague, both are pushing the envelope.
Glazier: dichotomy going on in this industry; number of shows and buys have increased...
just because of pricing going down?
Glazier: points to larger fragmentation of taste. then, a far more crowded field. lots of different channels, options - same in concerts - more fragmented, targeted. talks about the importance of targeting, focusing on CRM.
Adler: lots of community success stories like Los Feliz, which have crafted a stronger brand that creates something more reliable for venues, bands, etc. In the case of the Roxy, the equivalent would be the Sunset Strip.
How have apps changed the game?
Welt: cameraphone is a major shift. DVD live discs have gone down, lots of people can see it on youtube, etc.
references the Wall Street Journal article on people filming a show on a phone, watching the phone, but not really 'feeling' the show - and artists are starting to feel that.
other differences... backscreens are HD, other shifts - but filming a show and then uploading that is a more fundamental shift. Really transforms the experience.
The result? you can get lots of live footage on YouTube - so, who connects the filming of everyone into something great - a realtime film piece that threads it all together perhaps?
Connolly: Futile to attempt to take cameras away [not suggested by Welt], but how to embrace?
Grosky: Everyone will do it, might not even watch that film. What about shifting the behavior, maybe limiting it to certain sections?
Connolly: it's happening no matter what, need to find ways to make it work for the audience.
Adler: didn't want to deal with video uploads and payment splits and the like; just ratcheted up the WiFi uploading capabilities to let fans broadcast.
Screens...
Welt: curious how the screen behind the performer is actually larger, crisper than the band. bad seats maybe, but you end up watching the screens...
... so between that and the mini screen of the phone, what an interesting alteration.
Adler: very hard to replace the actual, live, loud experience; also draws some reference to sports - also a market where huge screens infiltrate venues.
Audience question: potential for theater broadcasts of live shows?
Grosky: It is one more additional platform... also gives access to fans that could never get to the show.
Is this an industry that is ready to take some risk?
Richards: lots of different ideas, classic rock bands playing wineries, etc.
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