The Great Ticket Disappointment

2009 is going to be an interesting year for the music industry. Falling CD sales have been a problem for a number of years now, but rising concert ticket sales have managed to pick up the tab to cover it. If 2009, as seems to be the case, is the year when ticket sales fall sharply, could the recession take some substantial record labels out of business?

The rise over the past few years of the 360^ deal - whereby the record company receives a cut of ticket and merchandise sales - was largely seen as the way to keep the money coming in. What wasn't factored into this was the recession that we are currently feeling the pinch of.

This is not a message that is widely portrayed in the media, which still sees the way that a few key artists can sell out large venues at high prices and takes this as gospel. Unfortunately, these artists can be named on one hand. They are the likes of Take That, Oasis, Morrissey and maybe, at a push, Coldplay.

Traditionally, I don't think I would've put Morrissey on that list but for the fact that his recent tour sold out three nights at a medium sized venue in around six minutes, causing great annoyance to myself in the process. The subsequent full tour, released a week later, sold out in the majority inside 10 minutes. I managed to get two tickets at the second attempt, being charged exactly £15 in booking fees and delivery for the honour.

It’s not just my wallet that’s suffering though. New and breaking acts are struggling to make a name for themselves as before because people aren't going to as many small gigs and even chart-topping artists like Lily Allen are struggling to sell out venues that would previously have been a walk in the park.

Action is clearly needed, Gordon Brown style, to get the live market booming again. I propose the following recession busting actions to get people out listening again:

• Legislation to limit the Booking Fee that ticket providers are allowed to charge to £2.50
• Reduce ticket prices themselves for the mid-range artists. There's no way that the market can sustain bands like Razorlight charging nearly £30. A simple but basic tier system of up to £10 for emerging talent, between £10 and £20 for those that have broken through and £20 to £30 for your track-record proven bands. Only bonafide legends like Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen or outdoor festival events should need to charge more than that.
• Allow venues to take more control over selling their own tickets. Too often venues won't sell you tickets themselves, meaning you have to use a ticket provider that will charge a substantial booking fee and offer you no option on where your seat is. Box Offices at the venue themselves can do this and improve the system, offering an alternative to the monopoly of Ticketmaster and See Tickets.

The whole situation is something that seriously worries me. I am going to see a folk artist named Emmy The Great (pictured above), who comes with a good reputation and underground success and I am excited about seeing. However, I am only ticket number 8 and I imagine the venue will struggle to get 50 people to see her; I've been to the same venue with less than 30 people in attendance to see the mesmeric Kate Walsh. Not only will this gig lose any sense of atmosphere but it is also heart-breaking to see quality artists playing to nobody.

Unfortunately, this will likely happen and the main reason is because of the greed at the top end of the market. The £15 in fees that I paid for my Morrissey tickets is a sad indictment of this point and without some serious changes, the future of live music could descend into a plaything for the rich and powerful.