Monday, April 25, 2011

Transportation Costs Go Up, Shorter Music Tours

If transportation costs go up, music tours are likely to be shorter and more focused on urban centers as music fans travel to fewer shows. To maintain the impact of the tours, more shows will be broadcast and recorded. For many fans the only chance to see the tour will be at home.

The Bee Gees were pioneers at this in the 1990s. Unable to tour, they played a concert only about once every year or two, but maximized the impact with television broadcasts and video releases.

I had the opportunity to see another early example of this approach with the current tour by Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood. The duo is playing just a few shows in Japan, so I couldn't see the show in person, but one of the shows was recorded for streaming on the Internet. Watching a concert on Ustream isn't the same as being there, but it also isn't the same as missing out on a tour.