Of Money and Music

Even on the rare occasions when things are absolutely
great—the stock market prances about as a freewheeling bull,
people have expendable income to spare, gold fronts for
everyone—the concert promotion industry is still a risky one.
Much like the unpredictability of the Wall Street ebb and flow (and
occasional plummeting crash), there is little reliable science to
booking concerts and filling venues. And now, a growing segment of
promoters and venues—usually buoyed by the universal acclaim
associated with Portland as a city overwrought with talented musicians
and music fans alike—are currently feeling the squeeze of our
country’s dire financial state.

While far less tragic than entire industries being phased into
oblivion (manufacturing, print journalism), economic woes that ricochet
through the local network of clubs and promoters may very well act as a
barometer for our town’s music scene as a whole. If they suffer, we all
suffer. So in an effort to better understand how the road to recession
goes from Ben Bernanke all the way to the Builders and the Butchers, we
talk to the behind-the-scenes players in Portland’s music community to
get a better idea of the current situation.

MERCURY: Since we’re now officially knee
deep in a recession, how are you adjusting the business to
adapt?

MIKE QUINN (Monqui Presents): We are trying to be very careful with
ticket prices and the volume of shows we are doing right
now—especially shows with developing artists. We are fortunate
with having somewhat economically protected venues in Doug Fir, and now
the Crocodile in Seattle, to do the developing club acts in. It will be
a little scary and interesting to see how the more adult-oriented
big-ticket summer fare at Edgefield and Bend do this year. We’re also
trying to just say “no” to arena shows—those can be especially
brutal if sales are off.

MIKE THRASHER (Mike Thrasher Presents): The current economy has
definitely affected ticket sales. We’re looking to bring in sponsors to
create value ticket shows like we have in the past with our Low Dough
Show series. We’re also reducing the number of shows we produce and
increasing our promotions for the shows we are producing. One
unfortunate effect of the economic downturn is that we have had to
focus less on developing acts and more on larger-name artists whose
draws are more secure.

CONRAD LOEBL (Rotture): I remember right around Halloween, near the
election, things started getting really scary. Shows that were
guaranteed to go off, bombed. Things kind of randomly flipped, and a
city that’s already hard to gauge became even harder. It’s been really
a very sketchy few months. In this industry it’s all peaks and valleys,
but this time it’s harder to see ahead of time. You kind of just go
with the flow, and hope for the best, trying to be very careful.

A national recession usually latches onto weaker industries, so in
that case wouldn’t live music—and the bar revenues that often
come with it—be immune?

JARKKO CAIN (Holocene): Probably $12 cocktails, $25 shows, and $10
Saturday night covers aren’t recession proof. A really sweet dance
party and a couple of Old Germans all for less than the price of a
movie, sans refreshments, that might still look like a good
deal.

THRASHER: I do think that live music events, especially those
targeted at young people, are somewhat protected from economic shifts.
One thing that was different with this recent recession was that the
price of gasoline as well as other cost-of-living increases caused
people to reevaluate what they could spend on entertainment. Even now
that the price of gasoline has dropped, I think there has been a long
lasting impact on the way people think about their entertainment
dollars. People are staying home more often, going out less. It must be
a boon for Netflix.

QUINN: The further we get into this downturn nothing is immune.
Shows have been off—some way more than others. People are
generally drinking less as well, basically the ticket sales and
drinking knob got turned down a few notches.

LOEBL: Everyone talks about how alcohol consumption actually goes up
in times of recession. But in these times, the service
industry—from the barista, to the bartender and the waitress, all
tips-based employment—definitely gets the pinch. And people are
definitely on a budget, so I think they’re still down to get out for
the most part, but I think they’re going to be a little choosy.

Do you think that surviving a financial downturn in the industry is
something that can be cured as easily as lowering door prices?

THRASHER: Ticket prices are generally set by the artist’s management
and are a function of the kind of fee the artist needs to receive to
make the tour work financially. I do find myself fighting harder to
keep ticket prices down, though, harder than ever before. Portland
seems especially sensitive to ticket prices, much more so than Seattle.
I also feel like the artists and their managers are listening to what I
say about ticket prices more than ever before. We do hope to bring in
more sponsor-driven events that can help get ticket prices down while
still meeting the artists’ requirements. I think the way to survive is
to provide high-quality events that people feel are a good
value. 

QUINN: On most national acts the ticket prices are generally a
function of what the artist wants. Bands and their agents are
increasingly making more sensible deals with friendlier ticket prices
as they too are seeing what’s going on out there. There is always the
push and pull of a cheap ticket price versus not undervaluing or
discounting my artist in the market. Nobody wants to play an empty
room.

JIMI BIRON (Crystal Ballroom): Starbucks is way down, and McDonald’s
is up. People gravitate to a deal, and will appreciate a lower
door price, for sure. The problem is that our overhead here is very
high, and it costs us what a small place would consider a record night
just to open the doors. I have to pay sound people, production
techs, security, and bartenders. We are a big, old place that is
expensive to heat and maintain. 

LOEBL: Yes and no. Portland is already a cheap-ticket city. Compared
to other cities, Portland is infamous for demanding very low ticket
prices. Something that is easily $10-15 dollars in Los Angeles or New
York is going to be like $5-7 here. For such a small city there’s so
much to do. I’m not sure how much cheaper tickets can get. As long as
you keep the tickets reasonable, if they want to go, they’re going to
go. For every amazing out-of-town act, or even an artist from another
part of the world, there’s a house show, free party, etc. going on in
the city. You just have to try and bring people what they want. Keep
the quality up, and the prices reasonable. But please, people, remember
to support the places you like to go to. If you don’t, you’re going to
turn around and they’re not going to be there anymore.