Panel Report:
Is The Future Of The Business In Mid-Size Venues?
Moderator
Charles Blum Star Plaza Theatre
Bruce Eskowitz Live Nation
Paul Goldman Monterey International
Laurie Jacoby Radio City Music Hall
Rick Merrill Gibson Amphitheatre
Terry Rhodes ICM
Brett Steinberg CAA
Larry Vallon AEG Live

Moderator Charlie Blum kept the discussion of whether more mid-sized venues could have an impact on the arena and shed business moving and lively. There was no clear answer to the question, but it brought up a variety of scenarios.

Blum asked Live Nation's Bruce Eskowitz if his company's acquisition of mid-size venues is a new strategy or part of an ongoing plan.

"It falls within our strategy. We like to think that we have a building at every size level that an artist might want to play in," Eskowitz said. "We just took over the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix. You'll continue to see us being very aggressive in all sizes of venues.

"You can see some House of Blues that are expanded into large sizes that might go into a mid-size venue range that you consider now. We have a number of buildings that would fall in the space."

What exactly defines a mid-size venue? Radio City Music Hall's Laurie Jacoby said that can be determined by market.

"I think each market has its own mid-size venues. In New York, you have a variety of venues to choose from whether you're playing a ballroom, Radio City or the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. It really depends on the right play for the artist," she said.

"Certain artists grow to be able to sell enough tickets to fill a 6,000-seater," AEG Live's Larry Vallon said. "Some artists that formerly were able to sell more than 6,000 seats are now declining, so you're adding a middle range," he said. "There's a lot of acts available to these venues - not just single artists but packages, too."

Monterey International's Paul Goldman said he thinks mid-size venues are a trend when it comes to certain demographics.

"I definitely get the feeling from my now-aging group of friends, who are real music fans, that there's a resistance to going back over and over again to the larger venues, to the sheds, for the summer shows," Goldman said. "I really think that if we're to discuss the future of the business being in mid-sized venues, I feel strongly that it is, if only to maintain the quality of the concert experience that is so intense at that venue which, to me, can be watered down in a much larger venue."

Blum asked ICM's Terry Rhodes if he thinks there are any artists today who can sustain a 20- to 30-year career and keep the larger venues in business.

"It's too soon to tell what's going to happen 30 years from now. I don't think we know what's going to happen five years from now," Rhodes said. "I have always encouraged a lot of the acts to have relationships with the promoters. They can tell you what's going on in their town better than you can somewhere else."

The trend from large to mid-sized venues doesn't necessarily affect artists because the difference in gross ticket sales can be made up in the net by a reduction in costs, Rhodes said.

"They look at their net. They see how many fewer people they're traveling with, they see their sound and lights come down drastically, the amount of trucks that are on the road," Rhodes said. "They adjust everything economically and they work more days a year."

The role of record companies, not only in artist tour support but in artist development, has an impact on the venues as well. Particularly for the younger artists, new ways of building a career to the arena level are already emerging.

"I think things like MySpace, Yahoo Music and other places will continue to be a way for artists to market hemselves," Eskowitz said. "You can't depend on just the record label to help you build your career anymore - you have to be open to other ways of marketing.

It forces the acts, and us as promoters, to do more creative packaging."

CAA's Brett Steinberg said the options to get an artist to the next level are wide open.

"I think the model of traditional record companies is not working today. Look at the success of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, the `American Idol' franchise and some of the bands who have literally broken through nothing but touring, and the use of the Internet and MySpace," Steinberg said. "There's a lot of alter-natives to radio out there to break a band but if the band is great live, it's going to come through."

Gibson Amphitheatre's Rick Merrill added that solid relationships between venues and artists can make a difference.

"At Gibson Amphitheatre, which was Universal Amphitheatre years ago, that was the major play in L.A. and there weren't too many other buildings to compete with. So those artists that would come out would play multiple nights," he said. "That went away when all the arenas showed up and all the other competition came in, so we've had to find more ways to attract the artists back and keep them in the mid-sized venues.

"George Lopez, who grew up in L.A., used to sneak into Universal Amphitheatre. He just sold out eight consecutive nights. We do a lot of Latin shows - Vincente Fernandez does seven nights. You can do ticket scaling and show these folks how you can make more money in a more intimate setting by doing multiple nights on certain deals."

Eskowitz added that everyone will still have to be creative to fill up buildings, no matter what.

"It's always about coming up with a different way, an interesting model, and we'll continue to push that as we go forward whether you have an arena, an amphitheatre or one of these mid-sized venues."

Tina Amendola