As Live Nation leverages its power in the concert ecosystem to increase profits, concert audiences see higher prices and artists experience challenging touring dynamics. The cost of touring artists becomes especially heavy, causing economic hardship for small and medium-sized artists. Santigold canceled a recent trip because of the exorbitant cost, as did animal collective. However, Live Nation is reporting revenue recognition.
All of this is happening at a time when musicians are dependent on touring. Pay-around streaming platform one-third to one-half of a penny per stream, making it difficult for small and medium artists to make a living. Musicians now use streaming services to get noticed and build an audience, but ultimately most of their income is from the tour. Even now as our band is enjoying more success on streaming sites, our touring earnings have more than tripled our streaming earnings this year.
So what can be done about this? While the Ministry of Justice is said to be under investigation Live Nation and its operations, artists, fans, and industry actors should work together to drive changes that improve the live music experience for everyone.
We should put pressure on Live Nation to cut back on merchandise sales, especially for burgeoning bands. If Live Nation argues it deserves a cut of our merchandise sales because it provides retail space at its location, we will receive a portion of Live Nation’s ancillary income at locations it owns and operates. It’s providing retail space, after all, but we’re providing it for everyone. Live Nation is getting about 20 percent of total merchandise sales while we’re getting nothing in terms of ticket fees, bar tabs, jacket checks, and parking passes don’t make much sense to me.
We may expand ticket sales beyond the platform. Currently, multi-venue ticketing contracts allow about 10% of tickets to be sold to “fan clubs”, through which artists control ticketing fees and maintain a direct relationship with the audience. fan. Many of the artists I spoke to didn’t even know this option was available to them. Other fair ticketing companies are springing up, but without expanding the rate of tickets that Live Nation allows for sale on other platforms, these innovative companies cannot become a relevant part of the system. touring ecology.
And artists should be cautious about the cost. The paytable should reflect a clearer, more comprehensive set of revenue so that the numbers at the bottom, showing how much the artist and Live Nation earned, are more accurate. The cost analysis should also be more transparent about line details like “house chestnuts” and “facilities fees” and should include many artists’ touring expenses, not just Live Nation’s.
Musicians, don’t trust Live Nation with your livelihood. My understanding of the nuances of trading comes from me mulling over each line of numbers after many performances, often in the sweaty outfit I had worn on stage just minutes before. My teammate Jordan Cohen and I regularly find inconsistencies or clerical errors that can lead to over an hour of recalculation, rummaging through old emails, and even intense arguments, all of which take place. out after midnight. I’m not suggesting that these types of problems are intentional or nefarious, but all told, fixing them could cost us thousands of dollars more per night than we could possibly have. Earn if you can’t catch them. (Live Nation told The New York Times that artists rarely debate settlements after the show.)
