Madonna Concert Sales Sag

[boy skeffington]

These same articles were rampant during ReInvention. EMPTY SEATS WILL BE EVERYWHERE is what was said.

[chayman]

she is actually selling pretty well and she WILL sell out.

this article is lame - selling 89K out of 120K tickets available for these three dates (74%) in three weeks is damn good. there has been little advertising, there is no cross controversy to get media attention, no pictures from rehersals and still she is doing this well - anyone would dream to have these sales - very few (like less than five) artists could rack up these kind of sales.

regarding her record sales - most people by singles or download songs for free - i cannot even find a record store anymore - maybe in best buy, costco, target or something - its all about singles downloads/internet radio and 4 minutes kicked ass as will give it to me - there is so little money in cd's anymore the industry ate itself up. i doubt madonna cares anyway she will make about $100M in pocket $$ from this tour

[Guest iMisto]

How funny. She WILL sellout. Think, if those were arena dates, that many tickets sold? It would have ALREADY been a sold-out show! It takes ANYBODY time to sell out at places that hold THAT many fucking people. Puh-lease.

But, just for the record... I am NOT going to this tour. TOO pricey. And I'm not driving outta state to see this bitch. lol

[Probed By Greys]

But, just for the record... I am NOT going to this tour. TOO pricey. And I'm not driving outta state to see this bitch. lol

Try ebay on the week before the show. By then all of M's fans will have tickets and ticket scalpers will be desperate to sell their tickets. You can usually find a great deal on ebay the week before the show. Usually I buy tickets for one show at reg price and then go to more shows if I find good deals on ebay. I always do though I went to RIT 3 times & CT twice

[Mad_On_Her]

It's totally ludicrous for Madonna to be expecting big bucks by selling tickets at ridiculous prices in stadiums. Half of the stadium need binoculars to see anything it's not worth it. Maybe it would have been safer to stick to arena's look at the WTG tour that wasn't a sell out and it was a stadium tour.

[Mad_On_Her]

And another thing, I personally believe the increase in dates in Europe IS because the tour isn't selling as fast in America as first expected. And maybe also the fact that HC isn't the comeback in America that Madonna's people expected.

[Guest boytoyville]

^ That many dates in Europe where always planned. lol Anyways, I am ALL ABOUT stadiums!!! The atmopshere. The thounds upon thousands of adoring fans. It's monumentus! I can't believe the bitching that goes on here about this. It's like you want her to play at your local community theatre & charge only 10 dollars a ticket & still expect the same level of entertainment & wow factor. I'm so glad that the Europeans have embrassed stadiums for major artist & festival settings. I also don't think her prices are unreasonable at all. I mean 160 bucks to sit & chill with thousands of fans drinking beer,having a good time & watching the glitz from the stage & on the screen...as well as HEARING the music. It's more than worth 1 trip to the grocery store & the gas station to me. I mean seriously. I honestly think that(especially in America) everybody thinks that they are entitled to an amazing seat. I just don't get it. I mean yeah it sucks if you can't get in the first couple rows but so what. Not everybody can be there. i have never been that close but always paid the high end for a seat,never even got into the first 10 rows & have never been disappointed.

[Skin]

I still have an old article from her Reinvention tour saying that it was bombing and tickets were not selling.

[Supernatural]

^ That many daes in Europe where always planned. lol Anyways, I am ALL ABOUT stadiums!!! The atmopshere. The thounds upon thousands of adoring fans. It's monumentus! I can't believe the bitching that goes on here about this. It's like you want her to play at your local community theatre & charge 10 dollars a ticket at times & still expect the same level of entertainment & wow factor.

Those same people, if she did that, would complain that she's doing it on their least favorite day of the week.

[Guest boytoyville]

Those same people, if she did that, would complain that she's doing it on their least favorite day of the week.

SO TRUE!!!

[Guest boytoyville]

I still have an old article from her Reinvention tour saying that it was bombing and tickets were not selling.

LOL Please POST!

[chayman]

And another thing, I personally believe the increase in dates in Europe IS because the tour isn't selling as fast in America as first expected. And maybe also the fact that HC isn't the comeback in America that Madonna's people expected.

i bet its because the dollar is so weak now - she/live nation can make more money

[Skin]

LOL Please POST!

I have no way of posting it, but they interviewed some dude who was talking about the "poor" ticket sales saying that "we are losing money on these tickets!". Whatever.

[markm]

It's totally ludicrous for Madonna to be expecting big bucks by selling tickets at ridiculous prices in stadiums. Half of the stadium need binoculars to see anything it's not worth it. Maybe it would have been safer to stick to arena's look at the WTG tour that wasn't a sell out and it was a stadium tour.

But IF she was touring Australia and she was playing large stadiums that would be ok?

There is no way she would play arenas in Australia.

[Guest gloriesbarcelona]

The tickets are just TOO BLOODY EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another proof that Madonna and her team are not leaving in the real world!

Who can pay that much money to see her on a big screen at the back of a stadium for 1 hour and a half when half of the country have to see their houses sold by the bank because they can't pay for it?

They are just greedy bastards and they won't make me cry if she's only making $100 million dollars with this tour... What the fuck???????

Pfffff.... outrageous!

[Camacho]

I still have an old article from her Reinvention tour saying that it was bombing and tickets were not selling.

Was it this one? Also from the NY Post.

MADONNA'S CONCERTS BOMBING

By MARY HUHN

June 16, 2004 -- Maybe Madonna's "Re-Invention Tour" needs a little retooling.

Thousands of tickets are still available for the Material Mom's six-night stand at Madison Square Garden that begins tonight — many at cut-rate prices.

Late yesterday, Ticketmaster, the official retail outlet for Madonna concert tickets, had seats in all price ranges ($50 to $300) for all six nights.

And some ticket brokers — who usually offer seats at a premium — were desperately trying to clear their bloated inventories with discounts of up to 30 percent off face value.

"We're losing money on these tickets," said one broker offering deep discounts. "The bottom line is she's doing too many shows."

Besides the six MSG shows, the 45-year-old musical artist has two shows slated for Continental Airlines Arena across the Hudson in New Jersey next month as part of her 19-city world tour.

"Tickets are selling well, but not as well as anticipated," said Michael Issac, president of broker Preferred Ticket.com. "Three years ago was a much stronger tour."

That tour, "Drowned World," "was a whole other ballgame," Issac said. While his agency isn't discounting tickets for this stand, the last tour drew prices "five times" the current stand.

A broker at greattickets.com said the phone was ringing off the hook, but not for Madonna — for the NBA's Detroit Pistons, who are close to winning the league championship series from the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Her public opinion might be shifting," said the broker, who did not want to be identified.

A few brokers remained optimistic yesterday, offering $300 second row center seats for tonight for up to $1,700.

And a $300 front row center seat for Sunday's performance was offered for $2,400.

Front row seats for tonight may not be available through Ticketmaster, but as of last night, $300 tickets on the floor in Row L were available for face value plus the usual processing fees.

The show was initially reported sold out, but last week hundreds of tickets were released as more seats became available after the stage was set up.

Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's publicist, said she's not worried.

She remained confident that tonight's show will "absolutely" sell out.

"A lot of people know that last-minute tickets are available," says Rosenberg.

She's doing well nationally. According to Pollstar, the first 10 shows averaged $2.6 million in ticket sales, selling more than 136,000 tickets over 10 shows in four cities. The average ticket price is $175.

The tour is on track to be the top-grossing tour of 2004, with a gross in the $120 million range and attendance of about 920,000. "New York has always been an exceptional market for Madonna," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar. "It's hard to believe she's not selling tickets. It could be she held back tickets, and people are just finding out."

Meanwhile cable channel Trio TV is having a little fun at Madonna's expense, hosting three Madonna silver-screen bombs at the Loews Theater on 34th Street.

The schedule: "Who's That Girl," tonight; "Body of Evidence" next Wednesday, and "Swept Away," on June 29.

---------

That was written before the 1st MSG show even took place!

Here is is the Billboard Boxscore for those MSG shows

Artist/Event: Madonna

Venue: Madison Square Garden

City/State: New York, N.Y.

Event Dates: June 16-17, 20-21, 23-24, 2004

Gross Sales: $12,674,925

Attend: 88,625

Capacity: 88,625

Shows: 6

Sellouts: 6

Prices: $300, $45

Promoters: Clear Channel Entertainment

Also, MSG posted this big ad in Billboard Magazine thanking Madonna for the shows there

The word posts is a little dig at the NY Post

[Carta]

And another thing, I personally believe the increase in dates in Europe IS because the tour isn't selling as fast in America as first expected. And maybe also the fact that HC isn't the comeback in America that Madonna's people expected.

Where was she going to add extra dates in the US, though? There was always a two week gap between the European and the US legs of the tour, and it's highly likely that all of the extra European dates were pencilled in there anyway (it's not like they could snap their fingers and instantly have all of those venues booked, contracts signed and ticket sales set up without months of planning). The only way your suggestion could be plausible would be if they'd secured dates in the US in those two weeks and then decided to cancel them in favour of the extra European ones. I'm not too sure which US cities she could have done in those two weeks, though, that would have fit in with her schedule. She could easily do a 5th concert in New York, but she's chosen to limit it to four for whatever reason, and all of the other arena shows have pretty much sold out. I personally believe that the European dates were planned all along, if only because you can't put something that major in place in such a short space of time.

[SkyHigh76]

LOL@all these conflicting media reports There are so many idiots in the media who want Madonna to fail.At the end of the year,when all the box office receipts are added up,we'll see Madonna right there on top.

[notsomuch]

What's the old saying, don't believe everything you read.

[Kurt420]

I love how all these articles (and the one from RIT) all desperately try to spin the tour(s) as flops, but then in the same article at some point you will read "but it's on track to become the highest grossing tour of the year." LOL

And what a FLOP "flop article" by the NY Post yesterday, my gosh. If anything that just confirmed how great the tour is doing so far.

OH NO....Madonna "only" sold 40,000 tix instead of 50,000.....she's done!! LOL She's "only" going to increase her gross from the last tour by $50 million instead of it increasing to $100 million over the last tour....OMG!! FLOP FLOP FLOP BUT it's still going to be the highest grossing tour by a female artist ever....breaking her own record.

[Camacho]

The length of time from when tickets went on sale till the actual showdate is longer this time than the past few tours. She has PLENTY of time to sell the remaining tickets.

[Alexz]

That ad is hot. Thanks Hec.

[DreamTheater]

The NY Post article is hostile and misleading. Quick to mention by how much Lil Wayne is outselling her but I wonder: at what type of venues does Lil Wayne perform? I bet Madonna surpasses him live by a much higher margin that he surpasses her at cd sales. Also they mention some slowly selling US locations but again is there any other artist that sells more tickets or makes more money touring than Madonna? I believe that currently not even Rolling Stones could do better than her.

I hope that with this tour Madonna will out-gross Live Nation's investment on her contract and for her next album and tour she will have creative freedom to do what she likes without worrying for the bottom line.

[Camacho]

businesssheet.com

Concert Promoter: Madonna Tour Not a Flop

Hilary Lewis | Jun 24, 2008 3:25 PM

NY Post: Big sales around the world for the Material Girl's upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" tour have been overshadowed in music industry circles by chatter about the large number of tickets still available for a key stop in Los Angeles in November and softer-than-expected sales of her latest album "Hard Candy."

The tour so far has grossed more than $74 million in sales for 13 dates in Europe and piled up a string of sellouts at arenas across North America, according to Live Nation.

Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music and CEO of the global touring division at Live Nation, projects the tour will gross more than $250 million in ticket sales - surpassing her record-breaking "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour two years ago, which pulled in $195 million worldwide.

Frankly, we have to agree with Live Nation here. Madonna has become one of those celebrities (like Tom Cruise and Mariah Carey) who's bigger abroad than here. She lives in London and speaks with a British accent. And if the tour still pulls in $250 million worldwide, Live Nation will still get its money, and so will Madonna. (Also, maybe those poor U.S. sales have something to do with the fact that tickets are as high as $500 each.)

Also, the Post points out that Madonna's current album has only sold 544,000 copies in the U.S. The Post makes this sound like a failure by writing, "That's barely half of what rapper Lil Wayne recently sold in the first week for his latest album Tha Carter III." But that Lil Wayne album was a shocking, uncharacteristic success. He was the first artist to sell more than a million copies in his first week since 2005, and only the 12th artist to do so ever. Also, it makes sense that Confessions on a Dance Floor would have sold more than 1.6 million copies: It's two-and-a-half years old. Hard Candy was just released two months ago.

[Nightshade]

I think it is important to point out that Madonna sold 101,405 tickets for the Confessions Tour in California alone. If you add up the numbers from this article and assume that her Oakland shows will sell out (being arenas), she's already got about 86,000 tickets sold for this tour. Not really that far off considering more will sell before November.

[kangarooz]

Not sure if this has already been posted, but oh well:

By Roger Friedman

Fox News

Is Madonna Being Sabotaged?

I often criticize Madonna in this space for her nutty politics or her membership in Kabbalah.

But there’s one thing you can’t beat and that’s Madonna live and in person.

So let’s clear up reports from Tuesday that her big fall tour isn’t selling out. With the sole exception of Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, the Sweet and Sticky tour, I am told, will outpace Madonna’s last tour significantly.

Indeed, Dodger Stadium is the only venue Madonna hasn’t sold out. Of course, the show isn’t for five months. The fact that she’s sold half the stadium now for November is pretty damn impressive.

So where did this bad news come from? Industry sources don’t need Jessica Fletcher to figure it out. Warner M. Group, which lost Madonna to Live Nation, this year, has been on a tear planting negative stories about the latter organization.

WMG, as I predicted, has done little to nothing to promote Madonna’s Hard Candy album as retribution for her exit to Live Nation. That a CD with a hit single, the Justin Timberlake-Michael Jackson soundalike duet, "4 Minutes to Save the World," has sold only 500,000 copies is an utter disgrace. But WMG only has itself to blame.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict this. WMG has just this and a greatest hits album left with Madonna, and then she’s gone. Her departure is a huge embarrassment to the ailing, much-mocked record company.

But here’s what’s better: I’m told Live Nation is on the brink of cutting a similar deal with WMG’s act Nickelback with hits such as "The Reason" and "Photograph," a contemporary hit-maker act, a rarity these days. Grabbing them from WMG could be Live Nation’s coup de grace.

Live Nation also is rumored to be making deals with Epic Records star Shakira for concerts and CDs. Is it happening? Well, hips don’t lie.

But Live Nation did not do the deal I long ago exclusively reported with the Rolling Stones. In the end, I’m told, it made more sense for Live Nation to keep putting on Stones concerts. But album-wise, the group is not a big seller. It likely is to continue one-off deals with Interscope, which did such a good job with the "Shine a Light" soundtrack.

As for Madonna, we needn’t worry about her or Live Nation. She’s already sold out four shows at the Garden and out in New Jersey at what used to be the Continental Airlines Arena — now the Izod Arena. She’s also sold out most of her venues in Europe. And Dodger Stadium? Those Angelenos are just mellow. They’ll get to it in time.

Meanwhile, a better question to ask is why can’t WMG cough up a follow-up single to "4 Minutes"? That is, assuming they would want to. "Hard Candy" is full of candidates such as "Miles Away" and "Give It to Me."

But WMG hasn’t had made a move. By contrast, Mariah Carey — whose sales have outpaced Madonna’s considerably — already is on her third single from her contemporaneous release, E=MC2 album.