hypebot

Live Nation, AdBrite Launch eFan Finder

ONLINE TRACKING FOR CONCERT AD CAMPAIGNS

Live Nation  and AdBrite have launched eFan Finder, a new proprietary service that helps local Live Nation concert promoters, artist managers and agents track and view the performance of Live Nation's online advertising campaigns.

Research shows that more than a third of live music fans find out about concerts on the web, while traditional concert industry marketing devotes only a small fraction of advertising dollars online.  With Live Nation eFan Finder, Live Nation's local marketers are able to easily create and place tailored ad campaigns for the company's concerts, utilizing geo-targeting...

Ticketmaster Buys VIP Firm SLO

Just in case you wanted to spend even more money than you already are on concert tickets, Ticketmaster has acquired SLO Limited, a provider of VIP ticketing services to major touring artists and special events.

SLO's services include concierge delivery of premium seats on behalf of its touring and event clients, creation and fulfillment of unique consumer ticket packages, production and hosting of on-site fan experiences, and concert travel packaging for fans.

Did You Miss Coachella?

Thanks to Seeqpod, here's a great way to sample music from each of the bands. It's also a smart use of new technologies to share Coachella to those who could not be there.

Live Nation Plans Ambitous Summer Despite Slowing Economy

Despite a weakening economy, Live Nation today announced an ambitious slate of summer tours and performances.  “This summer we are staging concerts in more than 30 countries around the world,” said Michael Rapino, head of Live Nation. “We expect a very strong season as our global platform will be fully utilized by an anticipated 7,500 shows during our busiest season."

That means that from May 1st until the end of September, Live Nation will produce an average of nearly 50 shows per day. By the end of the summer, they anticipate that they will have sold more than 27 million concert tickets worldwide. In the United States and Canada, Live Nation will produce the following tours:

OurStage Partners With Bonnaroo, Newport, Bumbershoot & Other Fests

OurStage has formed partnerships with a number of top music festivals  including Bonnaroo, Noise Pop, Newport Folk Festival, JVC Jazz Festival Newport, Bumbershoot, SoulFest and Afro-Punk. Each will tap OurStage to help fill out their line-ups using fan-driven music filters to identify the best emerging talent on the site.

Bonnaroo is using OurStage to host an online contest to play Bonnaroo 2008 and launched a Battle for the Roo channel. It is free to enter running through May when the Roo team will select from the top fan ranked bands to play the festival.

OURSTAGE VS. SONICBIDS -
OurStage claims a tamper-proof judging process offering artists a free showcase and the industry insights into how music tests. That OurStage offers artists free entry is in contrast to the Sonicbids model which asks artists to pay to participate for a juried (rather than fan driven) chance to perform at similar fests and events. Which model - fan reaction or experienced ears - will provide the best results for the artists and the festivals?

Read recent Hypebot 4QFor Interviews with the CEO's of OurStage and Sonicbids.

U2 Cuts Live Nation Deal. Stops Short Of 360.

Live Nation has reached "an agreement in principle" for a 12 year global relationship with U2, who will join the company's Live Nation Artists roster. U2 and Live Nation Artists will collaborate on touring, merchandising, and the band's website, U2.com. U2's longstanding relationship with Universal Music for recording and publishing is not affected by the deal.

By leaving out recording and publishing, U2 utilizes the concert giant's strengths without joining it in uncharted waters as Madonna did with her recent full 360 Live Nation deal.

In expanding the scope of its activities beyond touring, Live Nation Artists hopes to expand an artist's other revenue streams. The company already services more than a thousand artists with an array of services including global touring, merchandise and licensing (via LN owned Signatures Network, Anthill, and TRUNK, Ltd.), sponsorship and strategic alliances, recorded music, studios, media rights, digital rights, fan club/websites (UltraStar, Musictoday), and marketing and creative services (Tour Design). All the services are designed to strengthen and monetize the artist to fan connection.

"We've been dating for over 20 years now, it's about time we tied the knot," said U2's Bono. "With regards to U2.com..."

Billions & Aero Merge To Form Indie Booking Powerhouse

The Billions Corporation and Aero Booking have merged and will begin operations with offices in both Chicago and Seattle and seven agents.

Chicago-headquartered Billions is celebrating its twentieth year of operation. Among its exclusive clients are The Arcade Fire (pictured), Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Sufjan Stevens, Vampire Weekend, Neko Case, Silversun Pickups and Oscar-winning duo The Swell Season.

Seattle-based Aero Booking, in its tenth year, exclusively represents, among others, platinum-selling Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service, David Bazan, Midlake, Beach House, Bodies of Water and Bowerbirds.

Jon Topper Dinner Report: Why Not A Gas Fee?

OCCASIONAL MUSINGS FROM A BAND MANAGER

This summer is going to really suck for bands on the road with buses and trucks.  Especially for the smaller bands on that end of the spectrum who play for a small ticket price.  Promoters always hit artists and fans with fees they cannot touch.  Maybe it is time for the artist to do the same thing.  A gas fee.  $.50 a ticket that goes right into the artists' pockets to cover travel costs. Neither promoters nor Agents would be able to touch this fee.  It would help cover exactly what it says.  After all, there is no show if the artist cannot get there.

For Dinner tonight I had small mixed green salad a cup of vegetable beef soup and scallops, mussels, tomatoes and  spinach in an asiago cream sauce tossed with penne.

Enjoy Your Dinner

Jon Topper
moe.
Cornmeal

Live Nation Pacts With Citi Bank For Private Pass

Citi Bank and and concert promoter Live Nation have created a marketing alliance that leverages Live Nation's integrated music platform including concerts, online ticketing and access to Live Nation Artists to deliver a "comprehensive music experience" to US Citi customers.

Citi's investment will grant the company "official credit card partner" status at Live Nation, giving millions of Citi customers benefits through Citi's recently expanded Private Pass program including access to presale and preferred tickets, box seats at select venues, premium seats, exclusive merchandise and a variety of unique VIP experiences.  With Citi base of 150 million credit card accounts this alliance is also designed to drive ticket sales.

Only 25% Of 2007's Top Live Acts Were Under 30

FROM GUEST BLOGGER ANDREW J STONE

The LA Times put together a nice Forbes-esque review of musicians who made the most money in 2007, and the results are frightening. Not just because record sales were off 15% last year, or the concert industry fell about 10%, but because of the artists on their list, and more importantly, those artists’ respective ages.

The “winners” were, in order: The Police, Josh Groban, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw / Faith Hill, Hannah Montana, Rascall Flatts, Celine Dion, Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, the Eagles, Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel, “High School Musical 2″ and Linkin Park.

Of the artists and bands above, only 6 are (or are fronted by) people under 30: Groban (26), Timberlake (26), Miley Cyrus (15), Underwood (24), “High School Musical 2″ (Starring Zac Efron at 20 and Vanessa Hudgen at 19) and Linkin Park (members all in late twenties or early thirties).

Now, you could make the case that for marketing purposes, Rascal Flatts (all members over 32) and Dave Matthews (41) could all be included in the above group...