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Poor UK Ticket Sales and Future Musical Direction


JamesA

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If the stadium tour was some time after their 2nd law tour then the ticket sales might of been different.

 

I for one didn't go to Manchester gig this year because I saw them in Manchester last November. Didn't think it was worth going again for however much they sold the tickets for. It was to close to the last time i saw them to want to go and buy another ticket.

 

I also think they did too many gigs for England. 4 dates in my opinion seems abit over the top for muse. 2 dates would of been good.

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Take time off just for the sake of coming back with a bang? As in, designing a strategy to gain more popularity?

Just as I don't feel that artists should be pressured to release an album every x years, I also think it doesn't make any sense to tell a band to take a break because being around too often hurts their popularity. They should do what they feel like doing and the impression I get is that the guys really have felt comfortable releasing an album every 3 years and touring like this. Maybe it changes one day but if it does, it shouldn't be for 'popularity' or 'strategy' reasons.

 

And I don't quite get this negative T2L reaction some of you mention. No 1 again in several countries, Madness has been extremely well received in the US, Survival was the theme for the Olympics...

They have split the fanbase with every album. When SMBH came out, for example, the beef was legendary. No album received unanimous praise or criticism. T2L was not any different - and the gigs have been far superior to those of the TR era IMO (and judginig by reviews of fans here and in many others places, I'm not the only one).

 

If there is anything affecting the ticket sales, then I'd put my vote in the recession and the fact that they tour often. Still, there is obviously demand so I don't see any need to scale back down either.

 

ETA.

The Porto gig hasn't sell out yet (don't know if it will) but considering Portugal's economic situation, the outrageously expensive tickets (the promoter's falt, of course, EIN is fuckin vile) and the fact that the gig is not in Lisbon, which means a lot of people will have to shell out extra €€€ to attend the gig, it's a bloody feat that standing tickets have been sold out and there aren't many seats left.

Rihanna was here on Tuesday, in the biggest arena in Lisbon, and it did not sell out. Justin Bieber had 2 shows planned in the same place a couple of months ago and the second one was cancelled last minute, reportedly for bad ticket sales. In comparison, Muse aren't doing bad at all.

Edited by mjartrod
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Take time off just for the sake of coming back with a bang? As in, designing a strategy to gain more popularity?

 

Ah yes, a strategy that in years to come will become known as "the JLS manoeuvre" ;)

 

Don't get the T2L negativity either, love the album. If I got stuck on a desert island I might even choose it over BHAR.

 

Re the Coventry gig, it always seemed a bit of an oddity. Not only the midweek timing, but also using half of a relatively small stadium. I can see the appeal of putting something on in the middle of the country but I couldn't shake the thought that the key factors contributing to the gig being put on were more to do with them needing somewhere to set the stage up and rehearse prior to going on to the tour "proper". Why pay to stick it up at the MK Bowl just to take it down again a few days later (and have your surprises all over YouTube because of the sh*t fence) when you can do it all in a secure stadium, and then get a paying audience in to cover the rent before you GTFO?

 

As for this "poor sales" malarkey, it's already been said on here that the autumn/summer touring strategy, now it's established, has an impact. It was a real bolt from the blue when they announced the Wembley date(s) in 2007- but now everyone knows to expect stadiums the summer after the indoor tour, and not everyone wants to (or has the money) to go twice. The general state of the economy right now doesn't exactly help either - and that affects all bands, not just this one.

 

Ultimately I'm not sure it matters much. The tours will be planned on the basis of expected demand and so, whenever they go out next time, those of us who want to see them will get the chance. I'm sure the stadium gigs are well ahead of breaking even, and the question of "sell outs" is more about willy waving than anything else. I doubt any of the band, Tom or anyone at Muse's accountants is busy comparing this tour with Tepidplay's. ;)

 

The pitch at the Emirates on Saturday was f'ing rammed (and also contained Arsenal fans, sheez ;)), it wouldn't have been a problem for me if it had been a little emptier. Wish we'd stayed for the Sunday - but hoping there'll be a bit more breathing space, and maybe more setlist changes in Manc this weekend.

 

End of day it wouldn't worry me if they did play in smaller venues, as anyone who went to the War Child gig would probably agree. F**k off all the faff, indeed. :)

Edited by Citizen Crazed
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We (my wife and I) did 3 arena dates and after Manchester will have done 3 stadium dates this tour. The only thing stopping us doing more is work commitments (my wife works in a school) so can really only do local/weekend/holiday dates. I admit as being one of the 'older' fans we will have more income to hand for gigs but the obsession kicked in years ago and we'd do more gigs if we could. The pre-9am queuing has become the norm now!

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I just remember during the TR tour people were way more intense about it all. The forum here was insane packed SO many people were traveling from the States to see UK gigs and overall it was just very lively and maybe bc tickets were a bit cheaper then. It was intense and some of those same people have fallen off and no longer are hardcore fans anymore after that.

I feel like people in general many just overdosed on muse and just cut them off now. Or maybe they still like the music but don't like the forum anymore and are done going to their gigs as it is draining their accounts to see them?

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I just remember during the TR tour people were way more intense about it all. The forum here was insane packed SO many people were traveling from the States to see UK gigs and overall it was just very lively and maybe bc tickets were a bit cheaper then. It was intense and some of those same people have fallen off and no longer are hardcore fans anymore after that.

I feel like people in general many just overdosed on muse and just cut them off now. Or maybe they still like the music but don't like the forum anymore and are done going to their gigs as it is draining their accounts to see them?

 

Not remembering the exact ticket-prices for the TR-tour, I'm very sure that the increase in ticket-price is a very tiny small amount of the total expense of travelling from the States just to see Muse overseas. That pretty much goes for all travelling outside your homeplace to see a gig, even if it's within the same country.

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Wembley in 2010 was £51

Emirates in 2013 was £56

 

Hardly an eon in difference. It was worse for the arenas (£42 in 2009, £65 in 2012) and they sold out in 10 minutes.

 

But there are a lot of acts struggling to sell out big shows. Only big name pop acts come close to selling out big stadiums, or at least sell out the majority of tickets (The Killers have sold out the floor and expensive seats at Wembley but not the top tier).

 

I remember when this conversation came in December that it was discussed maybe they tour here too often. I think this given they've played UK shows every year since 2006, and maybe a lot of people have just had their fill. Though maybe if they just did Emirates they'd have sold out no problem.

 

Who knows. My night still looked about 45-50,000, which is still big numbers. And evidently enough for Arsenal's cack-handed method of getting people out of the stadium to carry on.

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Yeah I agree with that actually, how many other bands can you think of that have toured here that often? Maybe it's more common than I think, but I'm not sure I can think of another band (that I like). Am I also right in saying that 2005 is the only year they've not played in the UK this century? That's why I made the point about them possibly taking a break, maybe not necessarily from releasing music, but perhaps just from touring. I think that'd get people slightly more excited again. I had the biggest hard-on before I went to see them at Wembley in 2007. As much as I loved the show I went to last weekend at The Emirates, I wasn't quite as excited as I have been for their gigs in the past.

 

Hmmmm...

2000 - various tours here, there and everywhere

2001 - academies, festivals, arenas

2002 - Reading & Leeds

2003 - promo show, arenas

2004 - festivals, Earls Court

2006 - promo shows, Reading & Leeds, arenas

2007 - Isle of Wight, Wembley

2008 - Royal Albert Hall, V Festival

2009 - Teignmouth, arenas

2010 - Glastonbury, T in the Park, Old Trafford, Wembley

2011 - Reading & Leeds

2012 - iTunes Festival, arenas

2013 - War Child, stadiums, World War Z

 

That is a lot of gigging.

 

As much as there will always be an audience, maybe there should be some time where the band goes to places that aren't as gig-saturated as this island is.

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i agree with most that the reason for poor ticket sales is mostly the current economic climate. Disposible incomes for Individuals' and families are dwindling away rapidly and have been dramatically in recent years. Thats bound to have an impact when fans who have been to arena shows consider going to stadium shows.

 

This has also had an impact on record sales as the younger generation are turning to alternatives instead of paying for music.

 

There is most probably an element of hearing the majority of same songs in setlists which would turn off regular gig goers.

 

Older fans have to some degree been forgotten about to make way for new material released which younger fans can associate with, and the shows are becoming more about theatrics and less about the music. Think of all the b-sides and older songs which just are not played. The fanbase from the Showbiz, Oos, Abs and Hulaballoo era dont hear the majority of songs that they fell in love with anymore. That must be quite a large portion of gig goers, or was.

 

Certainly if Muse performed in smaller venues then shows will sell out, but we know they like stadiums

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I think the timing really didn't help, it was so close to Christmas, it was actually cheaper than the Arena tour, but with a lot of people having spent a lot of money on the Arena tour, more casual fans are going to be less likely to part with £60 to see Muse in 6 months time so close to Christmas having just seen them.

 

I offered a spare ticket I had bought to my friend when I got the Etihad ticket back in December and he said that if it is still available closer to the gig he will definitely go but he just couldn't justify it at that time. I'm sure a lot of people were thinking the same, but unfortunately they may have lost interest by the time the gig came along (and they didn't have me badgering them to go).

 

I personally think Muse are great value for money, especially the stadium shows, they really are spectacular. But it is still a lot of money, £60 for ticket, plus travelling to shows, the food and drink isn't cheap (they don't let you take stuff in), might grab a t-shirt - it soon turns into a £100+ per person outing.

 

Having said that I did think they0 show at the Etihad last night was pretty packed despite it not being a sell out, in a way the fact that it didn't sell out has it's advantages as I'm the touts are not having quite as much luck flogging tickets and ripping fans off!

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in a way the fact that it didn't sell out has it's advantages as I'm the touts are not having quite as much luck flogging tickets and ripping fans off!

 

^ This. On the way in I heard a tout offering tickets at below face value. While everyone's got to make a living, it's kinda nice to see the touting fraternity learning to take the rough with the smooth.

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Not remembering the exact ticket-prices for the TR-tour, I'm very sure that the increase in ticket-price is a very tiny small amount of the total expense of travelling from the States just to see Muse overseas. That pretty much goes for all travelling outside your homeplace to see a gig, even if it's within the same country.

 

The service fees seem way higher from what i remember (I got charged almost $15 for the service fee, which is absurd) especially with the paperless ticket stuff.

I feel back then people were more willing to spend money, whereas now we're getting older and many of us are realising that we need to save more and be more picky about which shows to go to. Some are skipping seeing muse the time around in order to see other bands maybe because it may not fit in their budget to see them and another band.

Some say $10 or £10 difference isn't that big of a deal, but it really depends who you are talking to and if people still have the same jobs or are laid off or not getting promoted. There are so many factors that play into it and lets not forget some people are probably just not fans anymore.

Traveling from the US to the UK is wose now than it was back then. The prices are MUCH higher now, and I know because my family and I travel there quite often. Plus many had holiday bonuses coming up and the London gigs were in September during the TR tour, so it worked out for people to use it in advance for plane tickets and what not.

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They're now speculating whether Muse @ Brann Stadion - Bergen, will be canceled due to poor tickets sale. Kings of Leon just canceled their gig for the same venue at 7. August. The organizers say they still hope to sell around 18.000 tickets for the 22.000-sized venue, but ticket-sale hasn't been very good this far.

 

This city and country sucks pretty badly. Crowds are AWFUL and only artists that can sell out a larger-sized venue is Springsteen and Bowie lol.

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They're now speculating whether Muse @ Brann Stadion - Bergen, will be canceled due to poor tickets sale.

 

Just as I was thinking of trying to go! :LOL:

 

Where/who are these rumours coming from?

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The tickets to the US gigs in my area were actually cheaper this time around, vs the TR tour, by about $10.

I would have to think, though, that if you're spending $60+ for a concert ticket, $10 either way wouldn't be the deciding factor.

However, yeah, the expense of the tickets in general is off putting when a lot of people are really struggling to pay bills, etc.

 

I'm not there, so I can't say for sure, but it also seems like they have played A LOT of gigs in the same areas overseas, and a lot of those areas are quite a bit close to one another.

 

For me, it was three years between my Muse gigs, and if I wanted to see them inbetween, I'd have had to take a very long and expensive trip.

Wtf is up with the $3000 flights from the US to the UK, btw? :eek:

Seems to price normal people out of taking vacations, or visiting friends...

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This city and country sucks pretty badly. Crowds are AWFUL and only artists that can sell out a larger-sized venue is Springsteen and Bowie lol.

Take away Bowie and you have a perfect description of Sweden.

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Just as I was thinking of trying to go! :LOL:

 

Where/who are these rumours coming from?

 

An article in Bergensavisen, one of the biggest local newspapers around here. They don't say directly that it might happen, but the whole article is leading up to it.

 

http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article6691599.ece

 

Is there a chance that this concert will be canceled as well?

 

Everything can happen. You never have any guarantees, but the plan is that they'll do the gig at the stadium.

 

And talking about sucky place to have a gig, the sun doesn't go down before like 23.30 PM during mid-summer so the stage-show won't be as spectacular as other places.

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It does look spectacular in the daylight as well, tbf. But yes, not as much as at night time.

 

If they've sold 15,000, that's still a better fill rate then on the US Tour when they played to 5,000 in a 20,000 venue on a few occasions (was it 4,500 in Cincinnati?). I'd be surprised if they cancelled it but Scandinavia really seems to have bad luck with keeping Muse gigs on.

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