Panel Report:
Straight Talk From The Straight Press
Moderator
Steve Knopper Rolling Stone
Mark Brown Rocky Mountain News
Geoff Boucher Los Angeles Times
Chris Willman Entertainment Weekly

Members of the so-called "straight press" joined CIC for the first time to talk about how the music industry is covered by the mainstream media and the changes both are being forced to confront in the Interet age.

While both industries are adapting to challenges brought by the new ways in which the public receives information, at least some things never change - including the sometimes contentious relationship between publicists and
reporters.

That was underscored right off the bat, with humor, in an exchange between Scoop Marketing's Larry Solters and Los Angeles Times music reporter Geoff Boucher. An article that appeared in the Times just days before included references to a Solters client, and Solters took exception. He wasn't shy about letting Boucher know it.

Another aspect of reporters' jobs that hasn't changed is when news breaks, all other appointments are off. With an announcement February 6th by Apple prexy Steve Jobs predicting the end of digital rights management, two previously confirmed panel members dashed back to work, leaving Rolling Stone music business reporter Steve Knopper in charge of moderating the panel.

Along with colleagues Boucher, Mark Brown of Denver's Rocky Mountain News and Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly, Knopper led a lively discussion that ran the gamut of subjects including how best to use the media to promote your client or show, the future of print media and even reporters' ethics.

Brown introduced himself with a rundown of his historically volatile Denver market. "Sometimes I wish I could be in a market with Clear Channel Radio dominating the media and Live Nation dominating the concert business," he joked, explaining that with the opening of an AEG Live office in his city last fall, the "booking wars" were back in full force.

Willman has worked for several publications, including the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco's now-defunct but influential BAM magazine. In his time watching the industry, "the middle has fallen out of the business, between the baby boomers and indie kids."

Knopper explained that his role at Rolling Stone is covering the business end of the music scene, but noted that even that sometimes dry subject has to be written in a fan-oriented style to suit his editors in New York. "The bottom line of almost every story I do is big stars or ticket prices. Whenver I pitch a story to my editors, the first thing they want to know is `Where are the big stars? What are the ticket prices?'"

But what several audience members wanted to know is: "What do we have to do to get your attention and cover my story?"

Boucher acknowledged that the role of the press in getting the word out about artists, tours and music has changed with the diminishing influence of radio.

"Radio used to be very regional and had its share of ideosyncratic characters, but now it's much more homogenized," he said. "You don't see a lot of those beautiful mistakes anymore, like Janis Joplin back in the old days. It's all very market research driven now, and the top-selling music on the record charts is rap, which doesn't translate well to the stage."

He singled out his coverage of a Rolling Stones press conference several years ago, and hit on a point that could not have been lost on anyone in the room.

"When The Rolling Stones announce a tour, the public asks, 'When are they ever going to stop?' But the concert business asks, 'What are we going to do if they stop?'"

But he pointed to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival as a success story, citing the persistence of Goldenvoice's Paul Tollett as a major factor in the fest's early success.

"Paul would be calling me up constantly," Boucher said. "But what he did was establish a relationship and he got me out there to see the site, and we were able to give Coachella a lot of coverage they might not have gotten without that relationship."

But a promoter can move heaven and earth to establish a positive relationship with a reporter, and still be the target of fans who don't understand why their ticket costs so much or why they can't take their kids to the front of the room to see their favorite artists.

"You need to know that no matter what happens, whatever goes wrong is your fault," Brown said of promoters, laughing. "People don't understand the intricacies of what goes on in putting on a show. They don't know that it's the artist who sets the ticket price. Tickets cost too much? It's the promoter's fault. Little Susie can't meet her favorite star? It's the promoter's fault. There's a rage out there and, fairly or not, there's a perception that everything that is wrong is all the industry's fault."

Willman pointed out many emerging artists are returning to the living room concert. "People do like to feel at home. You go to a Justin Timberlake concert, and it's in the round this time. There's a lot going on. It feels like visual multitasking. I'd like to know the thinking behind that production."

Another trend Willman raised was online ticketing. "When I was younger, there was something cool about having that hard ticket stub. You could paste it in a scrapbook and be able to say `I was there.' You can't really do that with a bar code.

"But people in general are very positive about online ticketing. Everything is right in front of the user and you know exactly how much you are going to pay when you decide to buy the ticket, though the surcharges are definitely a negative."

Willman also raised the issue of tiered ticket pricing. "It makes me sad on the occassion I do have a lousy seat in the back of the Staples Center, and I'm next to a couple dressed in their finery and maybe they came in a limo to celebrate their anniversary and, in their naivete, they thought that because of the price of their tickets, they were getting some special seats.

"Broadway has a done a much better job with improving its image with tiered pricing. You will still pay $450 for a front row seat, or a gold circle-type section, but the back row is going to be much, much less."

Boucher made the observation that after buying the ticket, the $20 T-shirt, the $30 program, food and beverage, "it almost feels like a strip club where they want to make sure you don't leave the building with any money."

Knopper also said the perception of the industry suffers when the fan has a bad experience at a venue.

"I like the idea of connecting with fans and doing the little things. I go to a lot of concerts and, especially when you just want to be comfortable, the little things count. It would be interesting to see somebody accountable, like a concierge or an ombudsman, to interact with fans.

"Nobody wants to get beer poured on their head. And the slightest thing outrages fans these days. If you have to spend all that money and, in the case of an Ozzfest or Warped where you're out in the blazing sun for 10 hours, I think this concept might be helpful," Knopper suggested.

The reporters took some heat of their own from audience members who felt they or their clients had been misrepresented or even "lied about" in the press. One asked how close a relationship news reporters have with their publications' advertising departments and another said he was tempted at times to refuse to work with certain reporters.

All four reported that their editorial and advertising departments keep a strict firewall between them.

"Ultimately there are critics out there that you don't like, and you think are full of crap. All four of us have heard this at one time or another. You have a message you want to get out, and we don't always interpret that message the way you would like," Knopper said.

"If you don't want to talk to a reporter, and you want to cut off access to that person, fine," Brown added. "We'll just go to another source - maybe your competitor."

Deborah Speer