As rock stars age out of touring business, who will take their place?

BY CHRISTINA HOAG
Miami Herald

Hip hop may be the top dog in CD sales and radio plays, but it’s rock ‘n’ roll that still fills the arenas – and we’re not just talking legends like the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney.

It’s bands like Meat Loaf, Journey, Pink Floyd, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Judas Priest that, if you weren’t around in the ’60s or ’70s, you might not have even heard of.

Trouble is, a lot of these guys are hitting retirement age. Some sexagenarian performers have even had to cancel tours due to age-related ailments such as heart problems and strokes.

“What’s going to happen when they’re gone? It’s a legitimate concern in the industry,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the chronicle of the $2.8 billion concert trade. “They’re a huge percentage of our business.”

When these performers and the second-tier rockers eventually shelve their road acts, the touring business could find itself hard pressed to fill the void.

With a handful of exceptions such as Jay Z, Eminem and Kanye West, the iconic music of today’s youth – hip hop – doesn’t pack venues with fans in the way rock does, those in the industry say.

“It’s always been a conundrum why hip hop, the top CD seller, hasn’t translated into ticket sales,” said Ray Waddell, senior editor touring of Billboard.

According to Pollstar listings of current tours, about a third are so-called “evergreen” rockers. The balance is a melange of genres including alternative rock, country and Latin, with only a sprinkling of rappers.

And classic rock is crucial to the industry’s gross revenues, boasting some of the biggest earners in the business – to wit, U2, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles.

McCartney, based on numbers from his 2002 tour, is likely to gross about $103 million on his current tour, or about $2 million per night, according to Pollstar.

Compare that to last year’s Usher-Kanye West concert, which grossed about $700,000 at a sold-out AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, according to Billboard Boxscore.

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