Posted on 07/10/2013 7:43:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Rolling Stones play the last stop of their current tour — and possibly their career — next week in London's Hyde Park.
Their last few shows have drawn rave reviews, and the returns on their earlier shows have been strong.
But others have called it "the night of the living dead" tour, for reasons that are perhaps evident.
And the Rolling Stones are already one of the wealthiest bands in the world. Their last tour grossed more than half a billion dollars. Mick Jagger is said to be worth more than $300 million, Keith Richards just a bit less.
So why do these guys keep going on tour?
There are three reasons.
First, digitized music is now virtually worthless. Prof. Peter Tschmuck, a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna who runs a blog about the economics of the music business, told me the return on investment from selling a digital copy of a song is 12% compared with about 36% for CDs — and that's before that revenue is carved up to various title holders.
Professor Jeff Dorenfeld, a lecturer on music business at the Berklee College of Music, told us songs have been losing value for more than a decade.
There's very little money made from recorded music anymore. Apple — iTunes is mostly a singles market, Spotify, that kind of service doesn't pay high royalties, radio is not as big as it used to be. So all those revenues are not where they were, and haven't been for the last 15 years.
Second — and luckily in response to item 1 — touring now generates lots of money. And it's especially lucrative to be the Rolling Stones. Their last three tours combined will likely have grossed about $1 billion
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Mick turns 70 on July 26th, the same day I turn 60!
All I need now is $300 Million Dollars and some singing talent. Well, just the $300 Million will do.
Also a huge number of radio stations have gone with talk or sports formats in the past twenty years. I imagine their ASCAP royalty payments have plummeted as well.
I want to see the mobile ICU units these geriatrics have to check themselves into after each show.
FYI, there was a Marvel comic years ago that featured a late 21st century rock band called "The Disinterred". They were described as a successful 20th century rock group with throngs of dedicated fans called "Jerries". The band perished in a plane crash, but the fans couldn't let them go, so they reanimated their remains. The band went on to continue performing for a hundred years.
I don’t know how old you are but the Brady Bunch had an episode where the oldest Brady boy was being made into a popstar. When he heard his voice after they altered it he quit because it did not sound like him. And we all remember mili vanilli.
According to an interview of Bill Wyman that I recently watched, the non-writers in the group (everyone other than Keith and Mick) only make any real money when they’re playing live. Wyman said that when the Stones took their touring hiatus during the 80s he and Charlie Watts were almost broke.
The biggest problem with a Rolling Stones concert is that the groupies throw Depends on stage now.
True, nothing is fair in life. Everyone has their geezer rockers to worship. These are just biggest still alive. Greg Allman still is contributing— his Low Country Blues is a good listen. And Atlanta Rhythm Section-—the surviving originals, still do acoustic/electric shows that remind how good they were and are. A beacon.
New music, timely is being squashed by this internet.... like a whole lot else, maybe everything in business— since we in America no longer make anything. But, way off the grid... there are some great artists like always, struggling.
yeah...I still considered them the rolling stones in 1969 when Brian Jones decided not to tour that year. that year, Mick Taylor replace him but he was replaced by Ron Wood who I still consider ‘the new guy’. when Bill Wyman left, I was a bit bummed out....but saw them in 1999 without Wyman...
now I hear Charley Watts wants to retire....if he leaves they will have thinned out way too much to keep the name...
I will continue to listen to my 60s and 70s studio Albums and the one live album I like....Git yer ya yas out....
I don’t like anything they made from the 1980s on....
I don’t need to put up with what I consider noisy concerts anymore....
I wonder how many people are asking the same thing of Tony Bennett, or when Sinatra or Dean Martin toured late into their lives.
Money stopped meaning anything to these guys back around 1965.
Since 2006 I have purchased 800+/- songs digitally. Only one or two CDs.
iTunes has sold 25 BILLION songs.
Of course the artists were not that new:
The Four Vagabonds (Rosie The Riveter)
US Military Band
Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
The list goes on...
IIRC, Keith did get into an altercation with Chuck Berry during the filming of Hail! Hail! Rock & Roll. Maybe Chuck bit him. ;-)
Seriously, Chuck is playing his last scheduled gig of the year next week (July 17th) in St. Louis. He must be in his mid-'80s by now. His singing is still intelligible, too - unlike Dylan.
Or gotten away with weapons violations?
Smart guys like the Atlanta Rhythm Section... long ago put out a tribute band to themselves, that they pay to tour, and continue to sell their albums. And new young audience just getting introduced to their music... love it. Pretty smart from talented folks (and they don’t have to do road dates).
There is one aspect overlooked in the analysis. These stones are people living the life..they need it... old folks boogie (see: Little Feat song of the same name).
Yeah, I know that but, at least they didn’t start espousing the BS during the show. It was not real political unlike the csny asshats. I’m sure they’re still liberal as hell even though they themselves are hugely wealthy and spend like no tomorrow. You know. Good for me but not for thee.
It ain’t the singing they are interested in. Really tiring of the bieber, britney .... whatever wastes of time. madonna gaga theatrical crap. Music-— where is it. Melody, meaningful lyrics.
No more than Mickey Mantle would have been. Point well taken. And crosby-— what the hell— he spent major time in prison for dope. A pig. And the dope industry supported this, and the political agenda that went with the music.
So, when will we hear arabic music in pop— already happened— Stings “Desert Rose”... pretty but who wants to hear a cairo call to prayer? obamaumau.
Nailed it-— all of this posturing, and Bono with his debt relief..... all bull crap. They are greedy manipulators, who feel guilty and then foist it on anyone trying to make a living honestly.
That’s essentially true. I PM’d a Freeper here in Hollywood a year ago who handles the shows for bands playing in 1000 seat arenas and the studios hold the rights and money played everytime on the radio or for sales. The only way the bands make money is by playing live.
I was talking to someone here recently who was a roadie for Guns N Roses (the stories he told me blew me away) that Axl and Slash were paid a small %age for the sales during Appetite’ because Geffen was desperate for them. You can attribute that to their smart agent.
:-) I heard that he turned down an offer from some Vegas Casino to play his 100th, because "He didn't think that the place would still be around."
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