Live Music Outlook: In a tough economy, will fans still buy tickets?

Five years ago this month, Qwest Center Omaha officials were testing sound systems and other components at the new arena, hoping consumers, concert promoters and others would help the city become a regular stop for top acts.

After a by-invitation-only event with Grand Funk Railroad in September 2003, the arena hosted four River City Roundup concerts, an Oct. 2 show with Cher and an Oct. 9 Fleetwood Mac concert.

Then Omaha started routinely attracting superstars. U2, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel and Paul McCartney came here. Willing fans with deep pockets enthusiastically met those high-profile, high-ticket concerts.

But now that times are tougher, willingness to spend may have waned, although industry insiders say they can't predict what will happen in the fall and winter concert season.

Five years ago, a gallon of gasoline averaged $1.61 in Nebraska. The latest figures indicate an average of $3.58 a gallon, according to AAA Nebraska. Prices for food and other basic items are way up, too.

Five years and 36 miles of hot dogs Facts about the Qwest Center's first five years. These numbers are through June 30, 2008.

Number of guests
6,053,623

EVENTS

First Event: River City Roundup

Concerts: 101

Family Shows: 126

Social Events: 367

RECORDS

Concert Attendance: March 14, 2008, Bruce Springsteen, 17,279 fans

Merchandise Sales: Oct. 23, 2007, Hannah Montana, $300,000

FOOD FACTS

Hot dogs sold: 381,024. That's 36 miles, enough hot dogs to reach Elkhorn and back.

Pretzels: 114,393. Over seven miles.

Water: 343,253 bottles. More than enough for five sheets of ice in the arena.

Pop: 1,022,763 cups.
The national unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in August, the highest in five years. Add a shaky stock market, bankrupt companies and home foreclosures, and many are less likely to spend on live music.

"We don't go to concerts for that reason," said La Vista resident Mitch Beaumont. Instead, he and his family opt for free entertainment.

During the first six months of 2008, there was a 5.6 percent drop in ticket sales nationwide, or about 1 million fewer tickets sold than last year, according to midyear statistics from Pollstar, a trade publication that tracks the concert industry.

Despite that, the Qwest Center saw net profits grow to $5.45 million during the year that ended June 30. In its first year of operation, the facility turned a $1.1 million profit.

Roger Dixon, president of the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority, said the Qwest Center did "strong business" this summer with concerts by the Jonas Brothers, Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty.

Attendance in recent months has been "very good" at the Mid-America Center, officials say, but they are noticing that consumers are being more "selective on what they want to go to," said Lynn Higginbotham, director of marketing at the Council Bluffs venue.

More concertgoers, she said, are choosing "middle-of-the-road" ticket prices rather than premium seats.

Ticket prices made up for the national sales shortfall by going up 5.9 percent from a year ago to an average of $62.07. The gross from the top 100 tours in the first six months of this year remained at $1.05 billion, the same as the midyear gross last year.

"Most of those tickets were sold months in advance, before gas hit four bucks a gallon and all the craziness," said Pollstar Editor Gary Bongiovanni of Fresno, Calif. "That has to affect people's spending patterns. They're not going to spend $200 on a concert ticket."

Ken Havlat of Lincoln would have loved to see Dolly Parton perform last month at the Qwest Center — but not enough to pay prices as steep as $125. The show drew fewer than 3,000 fans. He's not inclined to pay high prices for nosebleed seats.

"I really hate to seem cheap, but $40 is tops for me," he said.

It doesn't help that most concerts that appeal to him are in Omaha. It takes about $40 to make the round trip in his Toyota.

But despite the reluctance of fans such as Havlat — and smaller turnouts for Parton and others — the continued success of the Qwest Center doesn't surprise industry experts.

"They built the right size for the market and attracted the best names. More importantly, the community embraces it," said Don Sullivan, vice president of Chicago-based JAM Productions, which brought Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Shania Twain and Green Day, among others, to Omaha.

"We love the Qwest Center," Sullivan said. "All my shows have done great."

Smaller venues, though, are feeling a pinch.

Faced with poor ticket sales, some local concert promoters are moving shows from small venues to even smaller ones, hyping their events more frequently on sites such as MySpace, and offering free admission.

Whiskey Roadhouse at Horseshoe Casino has a pair of coming free shows, including an October concert with nationally known singer Joan Osborne.

Harrah's outdoor venue, the Stir Concert Cove, this past summer presented Lyle Lovett, Sammy Hagar, the Black Crowes and others in paid shows. After several years of growth, attendance was flat this season compared with the previous season.

Some smaller venues have had to cut a lot of live music. Bar Fly owner Terry O'Halloran stopped booking concerts on Fridays and Saturdays after a year of poor turnouts.

He thinks it's partly a matter of people spending their cash to see big-name, arena-level acts.

"What's getting squeezed is the local musician and local bars doing bands."

Bongiovanni, the Pollstar editor, said it's too soon to predict how the fall and winter concert season will turn out.

But the picture isn't all gloomy.

"It's not like the entire concert industry is going away," he said, "because people want to be entertained."

Im a concert Junkie I need Live music Like a Heroin addict need there fix I will Be In attendance some where or another TUBES tonight not my frist choice but live music never the less see you all out there

Peace
Bluezman