Clear Channel Concert Division Hits Slump?

From two stories on MusicBiz.com:“A little over a week ago, MusicBiz reported on what is shaping up to be a largely disastrous summer concert touring season. More evidence of that continues to mount, most recently in the form of a CNN.com story. Running with the same basic news angle, CNN.com cites Clear Channel Entertainment’s one-day fire sale of lawn seats, which according to Pollstar, sold upwards of 60,000 tickets. CCE put its best face forward; Co-CEO Donald Law (pictured) admitted that while prices are high, “We have provided $10 and $20 tickets to many of our amphitheater shows in many of our markets over the last couple of years and we do this in an effort to make tickets accessible for fans.” Yet a Pollstar spokesman wondered, “Was it a good move? In the short term, yes. But in the long term it trains your audience to anticipate deals at the last minute and not buy tickets in advance.” The House of Blues has just followed suit with its own discount ticket sale, but that may not be enough to salvage what should be the biggest touring season of the year.”

“In a related story, the heat is on at Clear Channel Entertainment. The far-and away leader of the live concert entertainment industry seems to be taking the brunt of the beating. Heavy rumors are swirling around, being passed from bookers to talent buyers, that the woeful touring climate has created considerable internal dissention within CCE. Was one contemplated executive shuffle thwarted at the last minute because of a concert conflict with a major artist? Insiders tell MusicBiz that although Clear Channel has nearly all of the former independent promoters under one roof, individual ties with artists and managers run deep. Clear Channel wants to avoid what happened in San Francisco with Another Planet Productions becoming a major rival when executives left the CC fold. Will this tumult lead to a different personnel move from within? Likely. Has the tumult impacted CCE to the point were it’s extremely wary of promoting anything new for the remainder of the summer? Keep your eyes peeled for some major action.”