R&B singer Sade opened her tour in Baltimore in June, playing at the 1st Mariner Arena. The concert was the arenas top money-maker of the year./)
When Elton John played1st Mariner Arenalast year, his first city performance in more than a decade, over 12,000 ns packed the arena.
Sade, opening her first American concert in just as many years, drew an audience just as big later in the summer, and became 1st Mariners highest grossing show of 2011.
At Rams Head, the demand to see pop singer Robyn, who was playing her only regional show, was so large that some bus companies set up trips from Washington to Baltimore for the night.
These acts — and other marquee names, like Lil Wayne, Rihanna anlil wayned The Pogues — helped Baltimore concert venues defy national odds to have one of their best years in recent memory.
While ticket sales dropped across the country — the top 100 tours lost about 14 percent of their audience, according to trade magazine Pollstar — Baltimore venues over performed, exceeding their own numbers from 2010:Rams Head Liveand Rams Head on Stage both made a list of the top 30 clubs in the country;1st Mariner Arena, nearly 50 years old, was the highest grossing of its size. And the trend also extended to small clubs like theOttobar.
Managers attribute the success to the diversity of the acts, getting more competitive with other regional venues, and the economy.
Theres also the growing perception among artists that Baltimore isnt a tertiary market anymore, and shows here can sell. Thats good news for ns, who can expect more top-shelf acts to play Baltimore instead of skipping it in vor of Washington, as was routine, promoters say.
Weve just gotten more opportunities to perform well, says Mark Mangold, marketing director atRams Head Live. And weve answered the call.
The concert industry came into 2011 shaken by disastrous sales the year before — for the first time since 1995, total revenues declined, to $4.25 billion, according to Pollstar.
Everyone pushed the envelope, in terms of ticket prices, and the number of shows on the road, and the public wasnt ready for that, says Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni.
Though the industry increased revenues last year, ticket sales continued to drop, to a 35.67 million, a two percent dip. The discrepancy can be attributed to the cost of tickets.
We would have thought prices would stabilize or come down, but thats not what we found, Bongiovanni says. The industry grossed more money but it did it by selling fewer and more expensive tickets, he says.
Baltimore proved the exception to the rule — 1st Mariner sold 40,000 more tickets than the year before, for a total of over 164,000 — the top-selling venue of its size, according to Billboard magazine.
AndRams Head Liveand Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis each sold 20,000 more tickets than in 2010, according to Pollstar. For Rams Head, that meant it was the 9
top-selling club in the country.
At these venues, and smaller ones that Pollstar doesnt track, managers say the surge in sales isnt due to a higher number of shows or more expensive tickets. They say they owe their good fortune to a combination of ctors, starting with competing more aggressively with other venues.
Frank Remesch, general manager at 1
Mariner, has resorted to incentives to attract bands. When Sade was looking for an American city to open her first tour in a decade, Remesch didnt charge them rent for using the arena for around five days. He also didnt charge them for marketing the show.
I have Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and D.C. to compete with. Theyre all big boys, he says. So I have to throw in these other things.
The strategy has worked out. Even without paying rent, he still made money on the Sade show — it was the venues highest grossing of the year.
Economics is still the heaviest weight on the scale, he says. When theres an event thats going 13-14,000 seats, and I can give them enough of a deal to offset the amusement tax, and I make it an enjoyable experience for them to set up, its gonna make these people want to come back.
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About the bloggers
Erik Mazais a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment.More ...
Wesley Caseis a south Jersey native and a Delaware grad. Since October 2008, Ive worked at b, reporting music stories that focus on Baltimores burgeoning scene and the music outside the city that matters to you.More ...
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