Reply #46: ALL summer tours are suffering....

[zulchzulu]

Let's see the Freep Sheep mention this teensy weensy little factor...

http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/25/news/newsmakers/summer_concerts/

Snip:

Singin' the summer concert blues
Music industry feels the pain as Christina, Britney and Marc bow out of tours. Are fans in revolt?
June 25, 2004: 3:00 PM EDT
By Krysten Crawford, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The summer concert season is looking a bit sickly these days, and not just because Britney Spears has a bum knee.

At least four top draws -- Spears, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony and Jessica Simpson -- have cancelled some or all of their tours, costing themselves, promoters and T-shirt vendors, not to mention people like stadium security guards, millions of dollars in lost ticket and merchandise sales, publicity, and income.

But these bowouts tell only half the story.

The other half: ticket sales have slowed across the $2.5 billion concert industry.

In response, Clear Channel Entertainment, the world's largest producer of live entertainment, has slashed ticket prices twice in recent weeks.

In two markets, San Antonio and San Francisco, the company has recently offered up lawn tickets to all of its shows for just $10 and $20 apiece.

"It's almost like the business went off a cliff and it has not come back yet," said Gary Bongiovanni, the editor-in-chief of Pollstar, a weekly magazine that tracks the concert industry.