Summer concerts: croak to croon? Summer concerts: From croak to croon? After a lousy 2004, concert promoters have reason to think this year will be different. April 7, 2005: 3:22 PM EDT By Krysten Crawford, CNN/Money staff writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - After striking a low note last year, the concert business is poised to sing. For the live-music industry, "last year was the perfect storm of things that could go wrong," said Ray Waddell, a senior writer for Billboard magazine. Now, one week after U2 kicked off the concert season with the debut of its "Vertigo" tour in San Diego, that tempest may have passed. The market for live music is staging a comeback. "Right now the business looks very healthy," said Waddell. That's good news for Clear Channel Communications and other concert promoters that were singing the blues last year. This year average ticket prices have stayed relatively flat, said Waddell. But the summer schedule, packed with at least 100 mainstream bands, appears strong. Top draws include U2, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Green Day and country music crooners Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Tim McGraw. "I haven't seen any (concert tours) that I would consider to be a bomb," said Michael Issac, a Las Vegas broker and president of PreferredTicket.com. "They are all good quality and very strong." Ticket prices are steady Even the producers of "Lollapalooza," the roving rockfest that featured Jane's Addiction, the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers in its heyday, are planning a summer show after cancelling last year's festival due to weak ticket sales. On Wednesday Bruce Springsteen joined the crowd when he announced a solo tour starting in late April, when his next album "Devils & Dust" arrives on store shelves. To be sure, it's far too early to declare 2005 a winner for the concert business. Signs of last year's slump first appeared this time last year when ticket sales "went off a cliff," Gary Bongiovanni, the editor-in-chief of Pollstar, said at the time. Bongiovanni was traveling out of the country this week and could not be reached for comment. Industry experts attribute the lackluster ticket sales mostly to an unusually steep price hike in early 2004. Concertgoers, they said, finally got fed up after nearly a decade of escalating ticket prices and other ancillary costs like parking and food. "The face values (for headliners like Madonna) were very high," said Issac, the ticket broker. Fans also yawned at the mostly ho-hum glut of tours. Nor did it help the industry's image that several top billers like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson cancelled all or parts of their tours due to ailments. Other scheduled tours, including Lollapalooza, pulled the plug entirely, canceling a string of engagements because of lackluster sales. In the end, domestic concert promoters reported $2.2 billion in ticket sales in 2004, nearly flat from the prior year, according to Billboard. Waddell says sales figure excludes venues like casinos, clubs and festivals, which don't report revenues. "Promoters have learned a lot of valuable lessons," said Waddell. Instead of raising prices, concert organizers are trying to give fans more for their money with, for instance, shows featuring more than one headliner. As a result, Don Henley is touring with Stevie Nicks; Earth, Wind, & Fire is sharing a bill with Chicago; and John Mellencamp has teamed with John Fogerty. "Promoters are providing more value," said Waddell. "Rather than discounting, they're trying to get the pricing right." Will promoters be punished again? The big beneficiary of a sustained revival would likely be Clear Channel Entertainment. The world's largest concert promoter, a Clear Channel Communications (Research) subsidiary, bore the brunt of consumer fury last year. Last month, Clear Channel Communications reported that operating income in its live entertainment unit fell 27 percent in 2004, to $95 million. In contrast, the company's two other businesses, radio and outdoor advertising, both saw operating income rise. Clear Channel management attributed the profit falloff in its live entertainment, which includes theater, to both "a significant amount" of concert cancellations and guaranteed payments to artists, who pocket the bulk of ticket sales. Clear Channel slashed some ticket prices last summer in a bid to spur sales. Clear Channel is eager to avoid a repeat of last year's fan backlash. Waddell says the company has made "a huge effort" to keep the price of its cheaper tickets down and to reduce ancillary costs like food and drink. He says it has also spent millions of dollars renovating venues.   Quelle "Summer concerts: croak to croon?" : Cnn.com Main page for "Summer concerts: croak to croon?"