Ticket prices add up to fewer shows

I wrote an article for the front page of Thursday’s Observer about the summer concert season and the key factors that have caused a handful of big shows to be canceled here.

Here’s some more information on that topic that I think you’ll agree tells a big part of the story:

Average price of a ticket to see one of the top 100 tours in 1996, according to Pollstar data: $25.81.

Average price of a ticket to see one of the top 100 tours in 2009, according to Pollstar: $62.57.

That’s nearly a 150 percent increase. You can chalk it up to inflation; but not all of it. I mean, I bought my first new car in 1996 for $16,000, and my third new car in 2009 for $28,000. (My current car is nicer than that first one.)

The more telling piece of this story, though, is how – duh – there’s a direct correlation between demand and price:

Price for a cheap seat to see red-hot Justin Bieber on Aug. 8 at Time Warner Cable Arena: $31.50. Ticket sales have been extremely strong.

Price for tickets to see uber-popular Adam Lambert perform last week at the Fillmore Charlotte: about $40. His concert sold out almost immediately after tickets went on sale in May.

Price for good seats to see Santana – which hasn’t had new material in five years – at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre: $81.50. The show was canceled.

Price for a premium seat/VIP package to see Lilith Fair at Verizon: $756. The show was canceled.

The lesson couldn’t be more obvious, but I’ll let Neighborhood Theatre owner Zach McNabb put it in a nutshell: “It’s a simple formula that’s gotten lost amongst the larger bands and promoters: Cheap tickets plus desired artists equals higher attendance, and higher profits.”

What else is there to say?

Kaka's secret

No one can doubt the greatness of Kaka, AC Milan player are numbered eight backs. And you know the secret of greatness man whose full name Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite? Read the gospel every day.

True, the following excerpt of the interview the magazine Men's Health, June 2006:

What is the secret of your success? 

Kaka : Confident in God. I read the gospel every day. Everything that happened to me in life, I can find there. Gospels give inspiration to get what I want in my life.

Is there anything more important than football in your life?

 Kaka : Of course! In this order: God, family, friends, and then football. If I do not play ball anymore, at least I will still have friends and family.

Ricardo Kaka Biography

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born April 22, 1982 in Brasília, Brazil), simply known as Kaká, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brazil and the Serie A club A.C. Milan. He is one of the budding young stars in world football.

Family
Kaká's younger brother Rodrigo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, known as Digão, followed in his brother's footsteps and is currently on loan with Serie B team Rimini, after having spent some time in the AC Milan youth squad. 

Nickname
The nickname Kaká, from his native Portuguese, is pronounced as it is spelt. The accent would signify that the stress is on the second syllable. In Italian, the language of his current team, the phonetic equivalent is written as Kakà, which is used for Italian television graphics. However, the player's shirt name is spelt KAKA' (with an apostrophe, rather than an accented 'A') for both Brazil and Milan. An internet discussion forum explains the nickname as a commonly used shortened form of "Ricardo" in Portuguese. Kaká is supposed to have got his nickname because his little brother Rodrigo could not pronounce the word "Ricardo" when they were young. Rodrigo called his older brother "Caca\ Kaká suffered an accident when he made a faulty jump off a diving-board, resulting in a vertebra fracture. This could have meant the end of his football career, but he believes that Jesus allowed him to recover and become the successful footballer he is now. When AC Milan won the Serie A title in 2004, Ricky, as he is called by his team-mates, sported a shirt with an "I Belong to Jesus" slogan. He also points his fingers to the sky as a sign of thanks every time he scores, for apparently the same reason.

Marriage
Kaká married Caroline Celico on 23 December 2005 at the evangelical Reborn in Christ Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a wedding attended by fellow players from his national team, as well as other well known international players. Guests included Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu, Dida, Julio Baptista and Brazilian national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. Caroline and Kaká first met in 2002, and started dating soon after. The relationship survived Kaká's move from Sao Paulo to Italy in 2003, while Caroline was still at school. It is likely that Caroline will stay in Brazil in the short-run, but the couple plan to live together in Italy very soon.

Plan B

There’s hope for us all as even established artists get refused record deals and the latest casualty is Plan B.
Plan B’s record label 679/Atlantic has refused to release his new album titled ‘The Ballad Of Bellmarsh’
The musician, whose real name is Ben Drew, has been forced to take the recording elsewhere, despite selling around HALF A MILLION copies of his latest CD ‘The Defamation Of Strickland Banks’.
In an interview with the BBC, Plan B said: “The label said, 'Look, we love your soul record. We know what to do with that. With the hip-hop it's not going to get play on radio, we don't know how to market it and we're not feeling it'.”... “I was offended but I said, ‘Alright, cool’. This is the compromise - I take that hip-hop record, I put it out on my own label and you own none of it... “I'll promote it off the back of my soul record and that's what I'm doing.”

Mary J. Blige

Good on ya Mary J ...
Mary J. Blige has reportedly enrolled as a student at Howard University in America, she’ll be a part of the school's graduating class of 2014... Mary J said: “The city of New York gave me my high school diploma … and now Howard University has accepted me,”
Mary J dropped out of high school during her junior year. However, she returned to school a year later and received her GED

Sydney Events In the sencond half of 2010 - Sydney CBD Hotels

The following Sydney Events are happening In the second half of 2010 and early 2011.

If you are attending any of these events and require Sydney accommodation Metro Hotels have a range of suitable accommodation for most budgets including Inns, Hotels and Apartments.

JULY

Sounds of Light 2010 25/07/2010
Winterbeatz 2010 28/07/2010
WWE® SMACKDOWN® AND ECW® LIVE 31/07/2010
Sydney FC Vs Everton - ANZ Stadium, Sydney 10/07/2010
Disney On ice 14/07/2010 - 19/07/2010
Good Food and Wine Show 16/07/2010 - 18/07/2010
Sydney Boat Show 29/07/2010 - 02/08/2010
RSVP 22/07/2010 - 23/07/2010
Business events Expo 22/07/2010 - 23/07/2010
B.o.B Concert 20/07/2010
Courtney Act: Maybe She’s Born With It 22/07/2010 - 23/07/2010
Richard Ashcroft & The United Nations of Sound 31/07/2010
Sydney Swans v North Melbourne 11/07/2010
Scissor Sisters 27/07/2010
Goldfrapp 29/07/2010
Online Retailer Expo + Conference 6/07/2010 - 9/07/2010
Danny Green v Paul brigs - IBO CRUISER WEIGHT WORLD TITLE 21/07/2010
Sydney International FIFA Fan Fest - Finals Breakfast 07/07/2010 - 12/07/2010
11th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness 28/07/2010 - 01/08/10
Sydney Roosters v South Sydney Rabbitohs 9/07/2010
Institute of Industrial Arts Annual Conference 30/07/2010 - 31/07/2010
Sydney Roosters v Bulldogs 18/07/2010
Sydney 2010 Festival of Football tournament 25/07/2010 - 31/07/2010


August

Australian Gaming Expo 8/08/2010 - 10/08/10
City To Surf 8/08/2010
Derek Acorah Australian Tour 2010 14/08/2010
3OH!3 Concert, Round house 13/08/2010
Choirboys: 30th Anniversary Tour 14/08/2010
Fiona O’Loughlin: The Essential 11/08/2010
Slash - Concert 16/08/2010
Talent Storm 2010 30/08/2010 - 31/08/2010
Syndey Swans v Hawthorn 7/08/2010
International Jewellery Fair 29/08/2010 - 31/08/2010
Rooster V Dragons 06/08/2010 - 09/08/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory 7/08/2010
Swans V Hawthorn 7/08/2010
Roosters V Titans 20/08/2010 - 23/08/2010
Swans V Bulldogs 21/08/2010
Rossters V Eagles 27/08/2010 - 30/08/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners 28/08/2010

September

Tim McGraw 21/09/2010
Powderfinger Concert--Entertainment Centre 18/09/2010
Sydney Marathon 19/09/2010
Golden Oldies-World Rugby Festival 26/09/2010 - 03/10/2010
Wallabies VS New Zealand 11/09/2010
Whole Lotta Love" Led Zeppelin Celebration 11/09/2010
Cypress Hill Concert 24/09/2010
John Butler Trio 3/09/2010
The Whitlams 4/09/2010
Dental Assistants' Association/Big Day Out for the Dental Team 10/09/2010
The Man In Black: The Johnny Cash Story 10/09/2010 - 11/09/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Adelaide United 4/09/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Gold Coast United 26/09/2010
A-League Sydney FC v North Queensland Fury 29/09/2010

October

NRL Grand Final 3/10/2010
Ben Hur 22/10/2010 - 23/10/2010
Andre Rieu - Concert 31/10/2010
Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health (APACT) 20/10/2010 - 24/10/2010
Sydney Dance Show (Sydney Theater) 08/10/2010 - 23/10/2010
Rugby League, Four Nations 24/10/2010
Australian Sexual Health and Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 18/10/2010-22/10/2010
South Pacific Dance Sport Championship 2/10/2010 - 3/10/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Adelaide United 4/10/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar 30/10/2010

November

Mind Body & Soul Festival (SCC 04/11/2010 - 07/11/2010
Andre Rieu - Concert 1/11/2010
Powderfinger - Concert 6/11/2010
Leonard Cohen - Concert 08/11/2010 - 09/11/2010
Metallica - Concert 10/11/2010 - 13/11/2010
Crusty Demons - Concert 27/11/2010
Monster Energy Super X 27/11/2010
XSport Games 13/11/2010 - 14/11/2010
James Morrison and his Big Bad Band with Special Guests 27/11/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets 7/11/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Perth Glory 21/11/2010

December

V8 Supercar 01/12/2010 - 05/12/2010
Eagles - Concert 6/12/2010
Muse - Concert 9/12/2010
Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conferece 02/12/2010 - 05/12/2010
Homebake Festival 4/12/2010
Blondie & The Pretenders 7/12/2010 - 9/12/2010
Vision Eye Institute 15th Annual Conference 5/12/2010
Carols in The Domain 18/12/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix 1/12/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar 12/12/2010
Bon Jovi - The Circle Tour 17/12/2010
A-League Sydney FC v Melbourne Heart 23/12/2010


FEBRUARY

MICHAEL BUBLE CONCERT 14th & 15th February

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed that she is unsure over which single she is releasing next... She’s admitted that her label are undecided on whether to release her collaboration with DJ Armin Van Buuren ‘Not Giving Up’, or the song ‘Can't Fight This Feeling’ featuring Junior Caldera, which has already been released in parts of Europe.
Sophie said: “There's a song I did with Armin which will definitely be a single called ‘Not Giving Up’, and then I also wrote a song with French DJ called Junior Caldera which was released in France and some places around Europe... “It has been doing well, so I think they're going to be bringing that out, [but] it's the same label bringing out both tracks so I'm not sure what order we're going to go for yet.”
Sophie also said that the music video for ‘Not Giving Up’ could be filmed in Ibiza... “I think it's around Armin's schedule a bit because I have to go where he is and he's DJ-ing around the world all the time. I think it might be in Ibiza because he is doing a residency there.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is due to release her fourth studio album ‘Straight To The Heart’ later this year.