🎵 2022-08-23 18:44:00 – Paris/France.
Mick Jagger once said he'd rather be dead than sing "Satisfaction" at 45. Yet here he is at 79, prancing across European stages this summer in music's most powerful money-making machine. Since 1980, the Rolling Stones have grossed $2,2 billion on tour, more than any other act to date.
But Mick and Keith and many other top rockers in arenas and stadiums are now pushing their 80s. Who will replace them when they are ready to retire?
The answer, it seems, is an eclectic array of new stars, including Bad Bunny, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.
Mick Jagger and Bad Bunny are both filling stadiums on their tours this year. Alexandre Tamargo/Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images
Older musicians like the Stones, Bruce Springsteen and U2 have long dominated the upper echelons of the gigging industry. In the past, artists over 50 accounted for half of the revenue generated by Top 100 tours.
But gig business executives now say a wave of new talent has risen to arena and stadium status over the past decade. These bands represent a wider range of musical genres, not just rock, but also pop, country, hip-hop, Latin music and dance. Often they adopt new strategies to meet the challenges of today's live music market.
On Saturday, Mr. Styles brought his traveling mini-residency to New York for the first of 15 shows at Madison Square Garden. “You changed my life,” he told the audience. Last year, the former One Direction frontman and now solo pop star had the second highest-grossing tour after the Stones.
Harry Styles performs on stage in New York in 2021. Last year he had the second highest-grossing tour after the Stones.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Ghost, a Swedish hard rock and metal band, played to venues of 500-600 fans on their 2012 US tour. Next month the band will headline UBS Arena, Long Island in New York, which can accommodate up to 18 spectators for concerts. .
“There is such a long list of new artists who have emerged and grown over the past 12 years and are selling out arenas and stadiums around the world,” said Arthur Fogel, president of world tours at Live Nation. Entertainment, the world's largest concert promoter. . “It's a cycle of regeneration, not only of the artists, but of the fans. »
Arenas, which usually hold 10 to 000 fans or more, and stadiums, which are much larger, are not easy to get to. Most bands make their living in smaller venues such as amphitheaters, theaters and clubs. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, for example, a band that formed in the 20s, only graduated to stadiums this year.
Billie Eilish to headline Coachella in 2022.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Rapper Tyler, the Creator, 31, played clubs on his first headlining tour in 2013, said Kevin Shivers, partner and co-director of hip-hop/R&B at talent agency WME. Six years later, he did his first show at the 20-seat Madison Square Garden. Latin superstar Bad Bunny, 000, Spotify's most-streamed artist for two consecutive years, is in the stadiums, while alternative pop phenom Billie Eilish, 28, is in the arenas. In country music, stadium star Kenny Chesney, 20, has grossed $54 billion during his career, according to trade publication Pollstar.
Once, there was fear of a shortage of newer arena and stadium acts. Now there may be ample supply: there are rappers Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott; K-pop heavyweights BTS and Seventeen; country star Morgan Wallen; rock groups Green Day, Coldplay, My Chemical Romance and the Strokes; pop stars Dua Lipa and Lizzo; R&B-pop group The Weeknd (whose arena tour was scrapped in favor of a stadium run); the German Rammstein (who recently reached the stages); and, among many others, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
Some artists are on the cusp of bigger stages. Pop singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, for example, has been making the rounds in theaters this year. "This was Olivia's first tour and it was important for her not to skip any steps," a rep for Ms Rodrigo said. “But she would love to play arenas in the near future. »
Olivia Rodrigo performing at the Glastonbury Festival in 2022. She toured theaters this year but a representative said 'she would be delighted to perform in arenas in the near future'.
Photo: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
It's unclear how many of these headliners will have the staying power of Boomer bands, which in many cases are making more money now than they did when they were young. In the era of Streaming, society's music consumption is more fragmented than ever, making it harder for new artists to maintain attention and reach the level of stardom of their predecessors.
But the gig business has also grown significantly over the past decade, creating room for more mid-size arena acts. This could mean intense competition for consumer money and performance slots on sites in the future. Live Nation said concert bookings were up 30% this year compared to 2019; there are more stadium visits than ever before. Partly due to the consequences of the pandemic lockdown, other industry professionals are already seeing an oversupply of gigs. That, combined with higher touring costs, is fueling cancellations at some artists and festivals, they say.
Ghost will perform in 2022. Next month, the band will headline the UBS Arena, which can hold up to 18 concerts.
Photo: Ryan Chang
Ghost's story shows how an unlikely act can unexpectedly become a global concert touring juggernaut.
The band, led by singer-songwriter Tobias Forge, 41, combines occult-themed lyrics with catchy 1970s melodies. Their elaborate show features provocative costumes—Mr. Forge appears in character as some kind of demonic anti-pope – and the group does quick business with his merchandise.
Ghost's 2012 US club tour, dubbed "13 Dates of Doom," sold out small venues like the Roxy in Los Angeles. But Mr. Forge didn't just want to play certain towns; he wanted to expand the band's audience by touring tirelessly across the United States like Metallica and Iron Maiden had done, he said. "I sat down with a map and just plotted how they moved," Mr Forge said. "So for me it's always been, if you want to make it big, if you want to be a musician, you have to tour all the time. And you have to do, like, five shows in Wisconsin.
For many musicians, this is very expensive. Even successful tours often don't generate as much profit considering their costs.
The game changer for Ghost was the merchandise.
A spooky shirt from the Ghost product line.
Photo: Courtesy of Ghost
Like Metallica and Slayer before it, the group exploited gothic iconography in t-shirts that proved popular. (Ghost and Slayer share the same management, the Rick Sales Entertainment Group.) have done over the past 12 years,” Mr. Forge said. Add to that a first Metallica co-signing and a 'Best Metal Performance' Grammy after their 2015 album, 'Meliora', and Ghost went from opening Iron Maiden at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2017 to the headliner the following year.
Mr Forge said there was something timeless about the desire to attend large-scale events, where many thousands of people are intensely experiencing the same thing.
When the rock pioneers of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who built the modern concert industry finally step over the mic, music fans "will turn to someone else," he said.
“I wouldn't be too worried about the death of arena rock or stadium rock. »
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SOURCE: Reviews News
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