Live concerts business

Were you be able to attend te concert you planned ? After Covid-19 pandemic times -with forced ‘captivity’- people turned out to be crazy for live music (and for live events in general).

Beside concerts that are always difficult to attend, such as Coldplay for example with tickets selling out in minutes, mostly all the live shows are fully packed. When i went to Primavera Sound -first live music festival authorized after pandemic- i expected that amount of people (80000 per day), but this trend seems to be stable. However it was a festival where you get to watch several artists and performances, sometimes even in iconic places (like Glastonbury). Now we are seeing this phenomenon also for simple concerts.

We have recently read about the impact on the american economy due to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour or Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour (Beyonce also raised inflation in Sweden according to the news). The effects aren’t limited to just tickets but also include outfits and accessories that people purchase to attend these events.

[I still don’t understand why TS had to sing with pouring rain on her and her piano in one of her dates, without even an umbrella if they got so much money but this is another topic]

Another issue to consider is that artists are making most of their money from live shows and this happens for the digital era, more downloads on platforms less physical sources in the stereos. This results in never-ending tours, dates on dates to meet the demands of record companies and artists trying to be as perfect as they can in their shows.

Not long time ago, in the fabulous nineties, Kurt Cobain often complained about those long tours worldwide (although it was less evident than now). Obviously he had also drug and depression issues but his ‘scream’ went unheard by the media (especially when record companies were trying to maximize their income during a time where LPs and CDs were selling massively).

I personally am always happy when i can watch a live performance and feel frustrated when i can’t get the ticket for the show i want but we have to be careful that our favorite artists won’t be squeezed by the system and will maintain high standards for their live gigs.

Music collecting

How do you collect your music ? You still have your old fashioned CDs ? You being nostalgic and moved back to vinyl ? Or you became modern and only listen your digital music through your last model of smartphone?

I always was kinda a psycho for music collecting.

I first started to buy cassettes and CDs obviously, in that time you basically were used to go to music shop and look for the artist you were looking for buying the whole work without having an idea how was it (sometimes i also bought some album because i liked the cover). After a while i started to putting them in alphabetic order since the number was growing fast and it was easier to find the right one. It was also Mtv era and i discovered many artists through it, especially in the evening-night where more alternative bands were on.

With first digital ‘transformation’ (when it was possible to download all the music that you wanted) i was used to write down AAALLLL the songs of a specific album and then, based on the ones i found that day, delete from these papers until a full album was complete. I don’t know how many hours i spent doing this but it was a way to relax -obviously with music in the background- after studying all day (and medicine is not a light subject).

I still remember my father entering the room and saying: ‘What the hell are you doing with all these papers?’. Leaving the room scrolling his head saying: ‘what a waste of time!’.

Well it was a lot of work -and probably some waste of time also- but my goal was to listen more and more music and then, when an album was complete, going to buy the CD if i was satisfied with it (always support music industry!).

[well work was not only that, i have created in my PC folders with different artists and inside other folders related to the album with the real cover downloaded -i didn’t like the classic yellow one- with the year of publishing also. Such a maniacal work]

When i moved into digital era i was at the beginning skeptical but then, since my free time became less and less, i started to appreciate it because on my way to work or during a walk i am always able to listen some music. Even if i would collect CDs still i wouldn’t have the time i had before about listening a new work while reading song texts (but i would like to buy a new all-in-one stereo with CDs and digital so i can keep collecting some CDs of my favorite artists).

I never was into vinyls, they are fascinating, space saving, but they never caught me. First of all i didn’t like the fact of moving yourself to change song, and also changing a song can be annoying if you don’t get the right spot. Plus nowadays it’s not easy to dismantle them and it takes longer to get them since the request is higher than the past.

Digital music have the power to be reached by everybody and everywhere and also the big offer improve spread of several artists and different music genres. Recent feature of putting song words is very nice and you can sing wherever you are (dangerous if you are in the streets or driving).

Also collecting digital music is faster but in my opinion nothing is like having a wall of your home full of CDs to admire (i’m sure you all remember some moments of your life when you bought them or listened for the first time).

I know i’m romantic and probably old fashioned (beside being a bit psycho).