I read in "New York" magazine that the New York Racing Association was going to shut down today.  But the state government gave it a $25 million loan, so it could keep the Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks running.  Wise move?

I remember the Aqueduct ads growing up.  Horses running in dim light, was this fun to watch?  Turns out it was about gambling.  But even that’s off.  OTB (Off Track Betting) went bust in December.  4.5 million people went to an NYRA track in 1987, only 1.7 million went last year.  But you don’t have to bet at the track!  But betting plunged from $6.53 billion in ’87 to $2.45 billion last year.  The hope is to save the NYRA by installing slot machines at the track, but is this wise?

Bookies Gone Broke

Atlantic City saw its gaming revenues drop 13.4% in November 2009.

Atlantic City casino revenues drop 13 percent compared to a year ago

And Nevada gambling revenues dropped 6% in April.

Nevada gaming revenues dip almost 6 percent in April

I thought gambling was supposed to be recession-proof!  Like the movies!

Well, if it wasn’t for "Avatar", heads would be rolling in Hollywood.  Attendance at movies is down 2.7% this year.  Leave out "Avatar" and attendance would be down 12.9%. 

At Box Office, ‘Avatar’ Cast As Savior

My colleague Patrick Goldstein at the "Los Angeles Times" believes it’s about quality, that moviegoers are desirous of an original script instead of ongoing sequel-mania. 

Why does Hollywood’s heat of the summer box office feel so ice cold?

And then there’s the music business.  Where sales of recorded music are disastrous and they’re literally giving tickets away to shows.  Is it about quality, or can people just not afford it?

The entertainment industry has been pointing fingers for a decade, especially in music.  If only they shut down Napster, if only iTunes raised prices, if only ticket-scalping could be eliminated, we’d return to the glory days of the past.  Is this reasonable?  Better yet, is it rational?

One thing we do know, people will show up in mass quantities for hits.  Whether it be "Avatar" or "GaGa", grosses are great.  But once you come down from the pinnacle, people are holding their purse strings ever-tighter.  They’re just not buying tickets in knee-jerk fashion.  Which means that quality’s got to go way up, or expectation of revenue’s got to go way down.

This is anathema to the entertainment industry, where every film and record is seen as a breakthrough, trendsetting, a must-have.  But if women don’t want the savagely-reviewed "Sex and the City 2", with all those clothes and their favorite characters, then maybe quality counts.  Maybe most people don’t see today’s music as vital.  Maybe most people believe a show is so expensive, they don’t want to go, unless they’re guaranteed to have a good time.

Wow.

Imagine Doug Morris or Lucian Grainge going to the head of Vivendi and saying there’s just not that much money in recorded music anymore.  Or Michael Rapino going to Wall Street and lowering expectations.  This is sacrilegious!  They all say they’re tinkering with the formula, they’re gonna get it right, revenue is going to return!

Maybe, when the recession is done.  But when is that gonna be?  Wall Street might be cruising, but jobs amongst the hoi polloi are anything but plentiful, and bankers only want to overpay to see the hits.

Maybe there need to be fewer shows.  With only hit acts.

Or cheaper shows for developing acts.

One thing we know is people aren’t coming.  They haven’t stopped completely, but most people don’t want to see average or marginal talent.  And as hard as it used to be to build a star, it’s even more difficult in today’s media-saturated world.

From: Peter Zimmerman

Hey Bob,

In response to harvey goldsmith and wolf trap merch rates.

first:

We’re all in business. harvey in the for profit sector, wolf trap in the non-profit sector.

As the principal negotiatior of contracts with atrists here at wolf trap, it is my job to be clear and concise about the deal points for any artist who accepts an offer to perform at wolf trap.

One of the many "deal points" of any of my offers is the merch rate- it is a "most favoreded nation" rate, which means that NO artist receives a better rate. It is on ALL my offer sheets, and is non-negotiable.

The offer was made; the agency fowarded the offer to management; the offer was accepted and a contract was issued. Management signed off on the deal and the contract WITH THE MERCH RATE ON THE FACE PAGE was fully executed. DONE DEAL.

Then the day of show- Harv showed up at my venue screaming like a schoolgirl about the merch rate and proceeds to write to you as if this was a total rip off, berating my promoter rep- babrara- who is a consumate professional, and deriding me personally for "deciding to go home instead of discussing this me personally".

well Harv- i have a 2 year old with a nasty rash covering 60% of his body. I decided to be at his dr’s appt this afternoon. Some things are just more important than arguing over a deal point that was settled MONTHS ago.

While we often deal with challenging personalities on show day- it is RARE that i receive calls regarding situations such as this. If this is the way you conduct yourself profesionally harv- then so be it- take your artist elsewhere for a better merch rate. I know a 500 seat club in my market made an offer; i’m sure they would negotiate a better merch rate- but then again- we’re 7,000 seats- an ummm, you’re walk out at wolf trap tonight will far exceeed that walk out potential. Your choice.

I came to this venue as I was told it was a good one.
The minute I was made aware of these obscene charges I asked our agent to negotiate a better deal that was fair.
This is patently unfair.
I have been trying to make some sense with the management of this
building for over 3 weeks.
The fact that it is a favoured nation deal is irrelevant.
To be told that we have the option NOT to sell is an insult and proves my point.

IT IS A RIP OFF

The people most ripped off of course is the audience.
But no one in USA gives a toss about them.
I admit that if the contract stated 35% then I missed it at first.
Does that mean it is correct?
The fact that the manager of the building went home as we arrived
clearly again proves the point.

My stance is that someone, maybe only me, has to start to make sense of where we are currently.
Currently the business is suffering from overcharging on everything.
Starting with ticket charges and special ticket deals and the way
tickets are distributed so that the fans cannot buy a best seat at the
printed price.
The merchandising charges are the last straw.

If life is so wonderful here why are so many artists ticket sales on the floor?

Barbara may think I am an ass, and maybe I do fly off the handle.
But I will fight tooth and nail for what is right and this is not.

Harvey Goldsmith

We were having a beautiful day at Wolf Trap today, June 7. The weather was mid-70s with little to no humidity, a rarity for the Washington, DC area. We had presold over 5,500 tickets to our Jeff Beck performance with our fingers still crossed for a sellout. The road crew was charming. It was a beautiful day.

And then Harvey Goldsmith walked off the bus.

The backstory: Our offer for the Jeff Beck performance was accepted on December 18, 2009. The first deal point was our merch rate. It’s 35% and we sell. We received the contract on February 25; the fully executed arrived on May 14. Clearly outlined was our merch rate.

It’s mentioned as a deal point in every offer sheet, on every contract, and in every advance. It is not a surprise. It is also a favored nations, non-negotiable rate. If you don’t like it, you may choose not to sell. I’ve been here 13 years and this was the merch rate long before I started in 1998. Wolf Trap has been operating for 40 years and hosted thousands of  concerts and productions. As a non-profit, any penny we make on a rock show, or on merchandise, is turned into education programs for all ages.

In those 13 years, I have never encountered a bigger ass than Harvey Goldsmith.

As a promoter, Harvey of all people should know that when the deal is done, its done. He doesn’t get to walk into the venue and start renegotiating the contract. He certainly shouldn’t do it at the top of his lungs as he chose to do. He shouldn’t scream for 20 minutes and then come back for another 10 minute round later.

I’m the promoter rep. I’m here to make sure your Artist and my patrons are taken care of. I didn’t make your deal- the deal that YOU accepted 6 months ago- I’m here to fulfill our contractual end of the deal. I do a hell of a job of it, too.

Screaming at me? What’s the point?

Harvey isn’t likely to have this problem ever again. And it’s not that our merch rate is going to change, it’s that he will not be welcome in our building again due to his extraordinarily unprofessional conduct and communication.

There are major issues ailing the music industry. Attacking one another and whining and complaining- not going to solve these issues. Bitching about it via blog- not going to fix the problem.

Communicating with professionalism and common courtesy is a good start.

Attached please find his own Artist’s CD cover that he ripped up and threw at me during our "discussion."

I’ve got close to 6,000 patrons outside. I’m going to go enjoy the show.

Barbara Parker
Director, Operations & Artistic Initiatives
Program and Production
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
1645 Trap Road
Vienna, VA 22182
www.wolftrap.org

Subject: RE: Rip Off’s

Robert Norman works for CAA and is a good guy who is trying with his clients to get a fair shake.
My point is you can only win if we collectively deal with issues like
this.
Which is why I sent to both Rob and Peter.
Hopefully others will read and do something about it.

This is the tip of the iceberg.
Have you heard about the new Live Nation rip.
Take a selection of best seats hold them off sale.
Put them up for auction at around $1400 a seat
Called I think the Platinum seat.
LN have hired a person specially to handle this new scam

Harvey Goldsmith

From: Harvey Goldsmith

Rob Norman at CAA said:

"Had a long conversation with Peter Zimmerman, gave it a good shot but in the end, much as he’d like to, he can’t fix it. It’s a building contract he also has to abide by and Favored Nations rate to all Artists who play there.

He knows this is a sore point with Artists, managers and Agents as he gets plenty of calls on it.

I checked all the contracts we have had there and none have broken it to date."

Is this how we should deal with these venues!!!!!!
Just let it go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!