Television never sold tickets.  It’s like being in your living room, a member of the family, would you pay to see your sister?

Even though they’re taller now, because the screens are bigger, TV stars have little charisma.  Hell, one can argue TV killed rock and roll.  Where’s the mystery.  Want mystery…STAY OFF TV!

Even better is Bill Maher’s response.  Charlie’s going to go on stage and do…what?

It’s modern America.  Everybody can do everything.  Everybody can be a rapper, a musician, a movie star, a comedian, only this is not true.  It takes years of experience to get good.  And  Charlie Sheen may be a good TV actor, but as a live performer he’s got to stink…because he’s never done it!

Now in the old days everybody would have believed the hype, that demand for Charlie’s shows was outrageous, that they were instant sellouts.  (And don’t think Charlie’s shows are the only ones billed as selling out that don’t…)

So we’ve got the hype.

Then we’ve got the inaccurate reporting.  The woman at CNBC saying that tickets were still available for the Detroit gig even though they were of the platinum variety, way overpriced.

But then this story gets picked up and analyzed and retweeted until conventional wisdom is the Charlie Sheen tour is a stiff, before it even begins.

Welcome to modern show business.

This was only about the money.  And a misunderstanding of the marketplace. If you think Charlie Sheen will sell tickets, you believe Rebecca Black will sell tickets.  That notoriety/fame is enough to get the public overheated to the point of overpaying to see it all up close and personal.

But imagine the sideshow in the modern era.  The carnival barker convinces you to overpay to see something that is ultimately disappointing.  Today, this can’t happen.  Because you’d instantly go on the Internet and tell everybody that it SUCKS!

You’re sitting there during the event, texting and tweeting, that’s your role, everybody’s a reporter.

The mainstream media bought this hook line and sinker.  If Charlie’s a star, he’s a star in all media.

The brokers, who deal with the concert business like the stock market, they literally don’t care what happens on stage, they buy the hype and buy the tickets.  Causing an instant sellout.  Causing pandemonium and more dates, which don’t sell out, just cruise Ticketmaster.  In other words, there was very little demand.

And now the brokers are dropping their tickets en masse, at a discount, below face value.  Hoping Charlie enters rehab or drops dead and they can get all their money back.

Losers?

Charlie Sheen.  Who believed he was indomitable, a genius, a force of nature who could not fail.  It’s hard to shed the stink of failure.  In other words, this failed tour will hurt Charlie more than help him.  Whatever he’s paid must be measured against his lack of employability in the future.  In other words, when Creed overplays and tickets go unsold and the sheds are empty, it’s hard to recover.  Creed should have swallowed its pride and come back in clubs, there were enough fans for that.  And built from there.  Charlie playing live is like me debuting on Broadway.  A big jump that’s doomed to fail.

Brokers.  They got bitten in the ass here.  They do provide a service, allowing those with too much money who can’t buy tickets from Ticketmaster to overpay for good seats.  Weighing the pros against the cons, they’re scum.  If only tickets went for fair market value up front.  People are bitching about the cost of Buffalo Springfield tickets, yet it appears people will overpay to see Neil Young year after year, they think he’s worth it.  Bottom line, he gets all the money.

Mainstream media.  Even though the fiasco was broken by a reporter for CNBC, somewhat inaccurately, the mainstream media is complicit in hype today.  They want something to write about, something for ratings.  There are almost no reporters at TV news anymore, just people who quote the NYT, WSJ, the WaPo or the AP.  We get the news we deserve.  We’re a reality TV, all sheen and no substance culture, and that’s the news we get.

The public.  Once again people are sold no-talents while those with substance but sans train-wreck value go unhyped.  We’re interested in Britney Spears why?  Oh, that’s right, you grew up with her, but don’t tell me it’s about the music.

Winners?

The Internet.  A germ of a story is planted and then batted around until the truth emerges.  Sooner rather than later.  You can’t lie anymore, the truth comes out.

The public.  They didn’t buy this show in droves and now they know they were smart and are laughing that the brokers are losing money.

The truth.  Historically, show business was smoke and mirrors.  Now it’s all about honesty.  Have smoke and mirrors on stage, not in the marketing.

Can I Short Charlie Sheen?

Charlie Sheen’s live ‘Violent Torpedo’ tour: Not really sold out?

Charlie Sheen’s Tour Hasn’t Sold Out

Just Google "Charlie Sheen tickets", as of this writing there are 487 news articles delineating the lack of success of this tour.