| 8th September 2006 05:19 PM |
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| Jakeb206 |
75% of tickets sold as of 9/8/06!
This artical explains why the show is not sold out!
I said it as well, 75% sold and everyone thinks I am just a crazy fu*k! Once an opening act is announced the show will sell out! Lets see what happenes!
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/entertainment/special_packages/stones_in_wichita/15467432.htm
Show's not a sellout yet, but don't worry
We're just 24 days and a few hours away from what could be the largest rock concert ever in Wichita.
Here's the hitch: More than three weeks after tickets went on sale, the Rolling Stones haven't sold out the 37,000-seat gig they've booked for Oct. 1 at Cessna Stadium.
The slow sales have sparked dire rumors. The Stones are sure to cancel, some say. Others worry that if we don't support the Stones, no other big tour will ever consider coming here.
It might not be that bad.
Show organizers remain optimistic that the Stones will perform to a capacity crowd, and concert-touring experts say the band's promoters have a few tricks up their sleeves to make that happen.
Music industry experts also point out that while live performances are inherently risky, the Stones are one of the best bets on the market.
Because some Stones concerts sell out within minutes, there's a false impression this will be the case for all of their gigs, said the band's publicist, Fran Curtis.
"Over 75 percent of the (Wichita) tickets are already sold," Curtis said. "We're not at all concerned. We expect to sell out by show time."
More than a dozen dates on the North American tour still have tickets available, according to Ticketmaster.com.
Even if ticket sales in Wichita don't budge between now and Oct. 1, nearly 28,000 seats are spoken for, according to the Stones organization.
"In our mind it's been very successful," said Wichita State's Brad Pittman, speaking on behalf of the concert venue.
"We've already sold more tickets than I'm aware of ever being sold for a concert in Wichita, and there are still tickets available for people who want to go," Pittman said.
The tour promoter, Live Nation, recently took out more ads in the Wichita market, but the Stones might not be depending on Wichitans to fill the remaining 10,000 seats in Cessna Stadium.
Over the years the band has developed a savvy marketing plan, said Ray Waddell, a writer who covers the touring industry for Billboard magazine.
"Right now their focus is in getting through Europe," he said. "Once they hit our shores, the Stones marketing machine will kick into high gear."
Waddell said the band will likely use its direct mail database to target fans within a 1,000-mile radius of Wichita, offering travel packages and exclusive perks to lure them to the show.
"I can't recall them pulling a show for lack of sales, and I've covered them for 20 years," he said.
At the same time, the slow ticket sales could have an impact on future concerts in the area.
"If you don't sell this out, I wouldn't look for a lot of big shows to come through Wichita," Waddell said. "Recent history is everything to the people who plan these tours. Anything less than capacity on a Rolling Stones date is going to draw some attention."
Wait till the last minute?
Locals have known for years that Wichita is a slow-buying ticket market.
"If Jesus were coming back to town, we'd wait till Easter morning (to get tickets)," said Matt Potter, program director at classic rock station KTHR, 107.3-FM, "The Road."
But when the concert was announced in July, the buzz was huge, Potter said.
"My phone was full. My e-mail was jammed with people wanting to know when tickets would go on sale. After all that buzz, for ticket sales to be as light as they are, I just don't understand."
Radio, TV and print media in Wichita have been supportive of the concert, Potter said, and The Road's sister station in Tulsa is also promoting the show.
"I don't think there's anything more we could do to get people pumped about this," he said. "The die-hard fans had their American Express cards out to buy (tickets) in the presale. Now it's people going 'Maybe I'll see the Stones if I'm not doing anything Oct. 1.' "
There may also be fans who wanted to attend the show, but were turned off by the ticket prices, which range from $60 for the nosebleeds to $600 for seating near the catwalk between the main and secondary stages.
"That might fly in Dallas or St. Louis, where other big-time acts come in, but it's too much for Wichita," said local Stones fan Bill Thompson.
A member of the fan community Shidoobee.com, Thompson has been following news of the Wichita show online since the concert was announced.
"Ticket sales are flat all over the country, with a few notable exceptions like Regina, Saskatchewan," he said. "They've been on tour for a year now, and maybe people who've seen them don't want to see them again. I sure want to see them again, though."
Opener could draw more
As far as touring goes, the Rolling Stones are one of the best bets out there. Their 2005 "A Bigger Bang" tour was the top-grossing tour in the world, and Billboard named them the No. 1 touring band for the first half of 2006.
That said, the concert industry has always been volatile.
"It's a win-big, lose-big proposition. Some people lose their shirts off this," said Tess Taylor, president of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals and a frequent lecturer on the music business.
A venue the size of Cessna Stadium would be hard to fill in any town, Taylor said, and she hopes the band will reward the fans who choose to attend.
Buying concert tickets these days is like booking airline flights, she added. The airline might say that your flight was canceled because of mechanical problems, when they really want to cancel a poorly selling flight for economic reasons.
"The concert industry often does the same thing. They'll say Britney hurt her knee, instead of saying it didn't sell out and we decided to cancel."
In this case, Taylor said it would be more likely for tour organizers to look for an opening act with broad-based appeal, which could boost ticket sales.
"But a good opening act with any manager or agent worth his salt would look at the situation, and his price would go up," she said. "On the other hand, some artists dream of opening for the Stones and would do so for free just for the exposure. In the end, everything's negotiable."
Although the Stones have announced the openers for some tour dates, they have not lined up a support act for Wichita.
With a little more than three weeks till showtime, they may have to get creative. Let's not forget: The clock's ticking.
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| 8th September 2006 05:23 PM |
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| Left Shoe Shuffle |
No doubt the show will go clean once they announce Glen Campbell is the opening act. |
| 8th September 2006 05:48 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
"I can't recall them pulling a show for lack of sales, and I've covered them for 20 years," he said.
Absolute nonsense. Of course, they'll never announce that as a reason, but I can think of plenty off the top of my head. Two of which I actually had tickets for (Dublin 1990 and Paris #2 1998)
[Edited by Gazza] |
| 8th September 2006 05:53 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
the only reason they are playing Wichita is because they have now fully bled every city here dry
everything they do is about greed. Everything. |
| 8th September 2006 08:06 PM |
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| glencar |
I'm sure Wichita will sell out by then. |
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