As the structure of the music industry has changed and
record sales no longer generate the majority of income, artists have had to
turn to other directions to earn a living. Many artists, belonging to major or
independent record labels, have returned to the live performance component of
the music business. Live performances are one of the very few ways for artists
to interact with their fan bases. As many listeners are subscribing to streaming
services such as Spotify, the already struggling record industry is
experiencing continued challenges. Touring and live performances have
successfully sustained many entertainment careers in this struggling industry.
Just as an industry is reinventing itself, Billboard
releases a report that many opening acts for your favorite artists are losing
money with every show played. As touring is proving lucrative for superstars,
once again smaller artists are suffering. The practice of setting ticket prices
is a delicate art and could be one of the sole determinants of a well-attended
show. As venue sizes increase, this fragile ticketing formula is continually
put to the test to benefit the headlining artist.
As tour and business
managers have the interests of the headlining artist as a priority, opening
artists are feeling more and more of the pinch. An opening artist with a
$15,000 performance fee spends about $10,000 per week on production costs and
an additional $7500 per week on crew costs including tour management. As an
opening artist, you are often relying on your label for as much financial
support as possible given your inability to cover basic touring costs. As an
opening artist signed to a major label, it is likely you will not see much
income from touring.
As an artist or act becomes larger, the costs of touring
also grow larger just as the guaranteed percentage of the tour’s gross income.
As the live show requires greater resources, the potential for income also
grows as the demand for additional items such as tour merchandise grows. Tour
merchandise allows an act to cover additional expenses that have accumulated
while touring such as production, transportation and crew costs while being
respective to ticket prices and consumers.
With the increased costs of touring, many headling artists
may eliminate opening acts and many openers may decline major tours. Artists
such as Beyoncé, Elton John and Stevie Wonder perform without opening acts,
will the trend continue?
Resources
Waddell, R. (2014, Oct. 3). In Why are Opening Acts for
Superstars Losing Money?. Retrieved Oct. 5, 2014, from http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/touring/6274026/why-are-opening-acts-for-superstars-losing-money
