Indie Music – Concerts.
The drastic fall of record sales in the early 2000s coincided with consecutive record-breaking years in terms of revenue for the concert industry. The more accessible means of distribution and greater opportunities for consumption, while hurting the sale of pre-recorded indie music, may have served as a powerful sampling mechanism for the promotion of live shows. As discussed in my blog Indie Music – Trends in Concert Industry, since most indie artists generate more income from their live performances than music sales, this would imply the general welfare shift suggested by the literature presented earlier. Although it remains relatively unlikely that concerts could serve as the sole revenue stream for a viable music industry model, its rapid growth offers new, valuable opportunities in the music industry.
A report by Pollstar, the leading trade publication for the concert industry, provides historical midyear data regarding the top 100 grossing tours and events of North America, from 2004 to 2012. This report illustrates the growth in the total gross of these tours. Even with a few slight dips, this aggregate rose by almost 28% in the seven-year period in which the value of record sales was cut in half. While recording is still, from a revenue standpoint, a larger industry, the current trajectory, accelerated enormously by new technology, is quite striking. It is also important to remember that these numbers are only representative of the highest margin and do not capture a growing base of smaller acts that has perhaps begun to emerge.
Schultz revisits the idea and viability of a concert-based music industry in detail in his 2009 paper. As discussed in my blog Research Models on Prediction of the Indie Music Industry-4, he first outlines the four “challenges” that face the industry, several of which on their own would merit a re-structuring. The first, and most widely discussed, is the emergence of P2P file sharing deeming payment for consumption essentially voluntary. The cost of recording studio-quality music has also steeply declined with the introduction of advanced, and affordable, software. Third, expenses related to producing and distributing indie music have drastically fallen with the ability to release through the digital infrastructure. A 2008 article in Forbes Magazine documented a record-breaking year for concert revenue of $3.9 billion in 2007. At the same time, the revenues from the top 20 grossing concert tours fell by 15%, suggesting growing success among smaller touring acts. The rise in the prevalence of the Internet may be one possible explanation for this shift as smaller indie artists may more easily distribute music to build a fan base whom which they may then charge for their shows. For established acts, releasing free music, along with effective use of social media marketing, can also serve as promotion for tours.
Another notable shift in the concert sector has occurred with music festivals gaining widespread popularity. A 2011 article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, calling it the “Woodstock of the Internet generation”. While the gross revenue from the top 100 tours actually declined in 2009 and 2010, Coachella, and other similar festivals, continued to break attendance records every year. The season of music festivals is a time when fans are happily flocking around stages of their favourite artists to see them perform, or even looking to discover new artists. For budding indie artists, it is a great platform to get noticed and build a fan base. Getting booked at a music festival gives them a chance to connect with a larger audience and bring out their best talent. Today, if indie artists get on to the internet and start looking for music festivals happening within a 200-mile radius of where they currently are, they are sure to find many festivals coming up in a lot of places for their specific genre, related genres and even mixed genres. They can book a place for their performance at one or all of these. As discussed in my blog Music Festivals, this is probably the most economical way for an indie artist to go big and public.
In my next blog, I am going to write about reasons for decline in the popularity of concerts in the indie music industry. Please share your experiences and I will add them to my future blogs.
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