On the 20th of March 160,000 U2 tickets sold out in 40 minutes. With ticket prices costing up to €130 (plus booking fee), the nation is clearly not short of a bob or two. U2 were quick to cash in by adding an extra date, and more power to them.
I love going to gigs myself, but can rarely justify the cost. Living outside Dublin, I need to factor in the cost of trasnport, accomodation and food with the cost of the ticket. More often than not, I’m faced with a bill approaching €500 for a two hour (if I’m lucky) gig.
U2 are now hitting the “difficult” period. No longer in the first flush of youth, and nearly deserving of the “sgeing rockers” classification, they have begun to search for their identity. The back-to-basics three-chords-and-the-truth formula for many of the tracks on the current album, and it’s predecessor seem to have left the record buying public decidedly unimpressed. “No Line on the Horizon” sold 484,000 in the US in its first week of release – a respectable figure until you learn that “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” sold 840,000 in its first week.
How much of the decline can be attributed to the public’s impression of the album, and how much is due to falling record sales? Clearly, it is impossible to be certain, but one thing IS certain – tour incomes will be the major revenue stream for artists in the near to medium future. Until the music industry learns to embrace the mp3 revolution, ditch restrictive Digital Rights Management and seek out new and innovative revenue streams for their artists, touring and merchandising are the only activities that will put bread on the table.