Metal and the Economy

[Super Mahrio]

Well...since the economy seems to be getting worse before it gets better, i couldnt help but wonder at the state of the upcoming tour season...
I know that many festivals and tours have already been announced, but are they gonna fare as well as they did in previous years? Are people still gonna wanna shell out the dough to see [insert band here] or Ozzfest or whatever...of course some will..another thing, will some tours modify their prices in order to encourage people to spend the money to go to these functions? Many many people have lost jobs and are struggling to eat, let alone go to a show...
What are your thoughts?

 

[Captain Beard]

They'll do fine in Europe. The US, who knows.

 

[Super Mahrio]

thats my question..the US..i should have stated so but no i am...

 

[Liverslapper]

With music these days, it's all about the money. Venues will encourage people to spend a lot of money. for example, when I went to see the sounds of the underground tour, water was the price of crack.

Of course people will pay an amount to see a band that they favor, regardless of the cost. But as music unfolds, it seems to be about the money, which is unfortunate... But like I said, people will pay the amount to see the band, just like if we were to pay $4/gal of gas so we can travel to point A to point B.

 

[Dead_Lioness]

I can't say for sure that the economy effects 'metal' (although it effects everything) But all I know is that, this time of year, we usually have TONES of tours coming in to my area
and this is the first year we barely have anything

 

[tered]

I can't say for sure that the economy effects 'metal' (although it effects everything) But all I know is that, this time of year, we usually have TONES of tours coming in to my area
and this is the first year we barely have anything

"Tones of tours"...sounds like the circus.
Tours of tones. Hey, a new band name.

 

[slashvanyoung]

They'll do fine in Europe. The US, who knows.

Actually, no.

Many established festivals have gone down the crapper here lately, but that's more due to oversaturation than economic woes as of now.

But this affects everyone, it just might take a bit longer to reach certain people than others.

My band was playing quite a lot lately and the thing that immediately takes impact are energy prices, gas prices specifically. It's directly effecting your margins...

One thing that sucks quite a bit is the fact that headlining tours for "smaller" bands are getting very hard to pull off. For instance, Cannibal Corpse are on tour right now here for their new record but they're supporting fucking COB!!!

... and ticket prices are ridiculously high (about 40$). But it's a rather safe bet for both acts... I'd really love to see Corpse tomorrow, but no way in hell I'm gonna sub-finance that finish abominable caricature of a metal band.

Then there is Kreator teaming up with Caliban! Goat... uke:

 

[Dead Winter]

I can't speak for the rest of Europe, but I'm sure it's similar. Here hasn't been affected so much, mainly due to the fact that there are many big festivals here once or twice a year for several days. They're in Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia, etc. and a relatively short distance to get there.

As far as individual shows, it has slowed a bit since 2003/4, but that doesn't mean you're missing anything. That has just weeded out all the shitty bands who go on headlining tours that don't deserve to. Now tours are in packages, with at least 3 or 4 bands playing every night. The only exception was about a month and a half ago when I went to see Haggard...but then again, with a stage of 14 people, do you really need a support act?