Do the math, that is a nice paycheck at the end of the day. And this, from a country where people attending the concert are lucky to make $300 a month. A sixth of their paycheck to see a band from the USA.

There is tremendous potential here for bands traveling overseas. To take Peru as an example, they have a large portion of the population in love with USA rock & roll from the 80′s & 90′s. If your band fits that bill, you might have some good luck in Peru.

For the last song, lead singer Martin Gore donned a Peruvian Chullo (stocking cap) that was a major hit with the crowd. I remember seeing Collective Soul in Lima, Peru and each band member came out in Peruvian soccer jerseys midway through the concert, to the rapturous applause of their fans. This is a very easy way bands can connect with their fans in other countries. I think it would be an even better idea to have a famous musician from that country play with the band on a few songs, especially if the instrument is local to that country.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Female performers are required to cover up in the country, which has various rules for performances, including no foul language, or kissing or hugging audience members of fellow performers.

Cultural norms and expectations are an important consideration for artists performing overseas. This is a high profile case, and somewhat humorous, but artists must be aware of language, hand signals, and dress styles that could all be considered extremely offensive in the wrong context.

In the same manner as doing business in a foreign country, it would be wise for artists to study up on a culture before a concert. It could also be a way to involve the local crowd. For instance, if the country of the concert has a unique musical instrument associated with their culture, it would be a neat option to have a local artists play that instrument on a song or two of yours.

Beyonce could be viewing these restrictions in a negative way, but she could also flip that around and look at the bright side of the culture and try to involve her audience in better ways.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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I’ve written many times about the large Rock n Roll culture in Peru and how there is a huge portion of the population that listens to 80′s & 90′s rock music from the USA. Typically, bands from the USA have not traveled down to South America for concerts. In the 80′s, Lima wasn’t exactly the safest city in the world and per capita income didn’t allow for ticket sales to be enough to be lucrative for the band.

Well, that is changing in Peru. In just the first part of this year alone, average income in Peru has increased 8.9%. Another change is that the Peruvian government has relaxed taxes on incoming performers. So, more disposable income amongst Peruvians and more money to be made by the band (and not paid to the Peruvian government.

This has led to some big names already this year (Peter Gabriel, Marc Anthony, Iron Maiden, KISS) and some others coming up later this year (Cypress Hill, 50-Cent, Daddy Yankee).

When I lived in Peru last year, I didn’t see much of a rap culture. The 80′s/90′s rock music fans were prevalent, but rap fans were not. So, a rap concert with Cypress Hill & 50-Cent is very intriguing to me. It just goes to show that times are rapidly changing and opportunities abound for USA bands to perform overseas.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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1. Madonna: $242,176,466
2. Bon Jovi: $157,177,766
5. Celine Dion: $99,171,237
6. Kenny Chesney: $90,823,990
9. Jonas Brothers: $62,638,814
10. Coldplay: $62,175,555
11. The Eagles: $61,132,213
12. Lil Wayne: $57,441,334
13. AC/DC: $56,505,296
15. Miley Cyrus: $48,920,806
19. Mary J. Blige: $43,472,850

A few immediately noticeable items are that most of the highest grossing artists are either very well established artists who made their musical mark 20, 30, even 40 years ago. A second list of artists graces this elite list, and those are hip hop artists or artists that appeal to a very young fan base (Jonas Bros, Miley Cyrus).

Looking deeper into Madonna’s numbers, we notice additional trends in the music industry. First of all, Madonna’s album was not a huge success. It only reached a high of 50th place in top albums for the year. 10 years ago, the album would have placed a much more important role in the percentage of money an artist had made that year. In this case, a top selling album was unnecessary for Madonna to make the top of the list.

Secondly, Madonna’s Sweet & Sticky tour during 2008 took in $229,886,340 gross at the ticket office. It is estimated that up to 40% of that gross could have been eaten up by production costs. Nevertheless, nearly $138 million after production costs would be a full 57% of her $242 total. Thus, touring will continue to take a more important role for artists. But to look at Madonna’s grueling schedule is to realize this is not easy work. Madonna will also be extending her tour another 25 dates this ’09 summer within the U.K. and Europe.

Third, the estimate is that Madonna made $18 million just in selling merchandise. That’s nearly 7.5% of her total. Artists must have a great collection of items for sale through a band website and at the concerts.

Another important piece of information that Madonna’s money shows us is that Live Nation may have been on to something when they signed Madonna last year for a reported $120 million deal over 10 years. As part of this deal, Live Nation would receive a cut of all aspects of Madonna’s income streams (tours, merchandise, album sales, etc). We are in year #2 of this deal and it appears that Live Nation will be able to make back their $120 million and then some.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

This hotel has quite the booking agent. Past artists have included Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Elton John.

Coldplay is set to make 1.4 million pounds for this one concert. At today’s exchange rate, that is roughly $2 million US$. Not bad. I would guess the hotel would set them up with a pretty nice room as well. Possibly some room service.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

This is the first time that Oasis will be in China. Their international booking company, Primary Talent International, planned these dates and Oasis will work with Emma Entertainment within China. Emma Entertainment is a Chinese company with majority ownership by Ticketmaster.

This also means that Oasis has not offended China in any way through its lyrics or antics. Any foreign music group that has offended China in the past is not welcome to tour.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

This is a really smart way for a large resort hotel to get business. People naturally congregate around music, and the Jonas Brothers have a huge teenage following. These kids will push their parents to make the trip. It’s good for the parents, because their teenagers will actually want to travel with them. It helps revive business at these luxury hotel resorts. And I’m sure the Jonas Brothers are making a nice bank on the gig. Overall, it’s a very smart business move and a win-win for those involved.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

And for a band that only had 5 live shows in all of 2008, all in the USA, Soul Asylum is headed to South America for one of their 2 scheduled shows for 2009. The reason for this is that Peru has a huge group of people who are avid fans of 80′s & 90′s rock & roll music from the USA.

Last year, Collective Soul sold more than 10,000 tickets to die-hard fans in Lima, Peru. Average ticket prices were around US$50.00 in a country where a decent salary would be pulling in $300/month.

I will be interested to see how many tickets Soul Asylum sells. The concert is set for tonight, January 15th, at the Parque de la Exposición. The band actually had the concert schedules for early December of last year, but had to postpone due to problems with their visas.

This just shows that there are ample opportunities for bands to tour around the world. There are pockets of fans in different countries. I would guess that Soul Asylum will be able to pull a better crowd at this Lima concert tonight than they would if they came to Atlanta or Dallas.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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• February – Collective Soul, Deep Purple
• April – Miguel Bosé, Marc Anthony, Bryan Adams
• June – Olga Tañón
• July – Camila
• August – Molotov
• September – Mercedes Soza, Boy George, Wisin y Yandel
• October – Fito Paez, Andres Calamaro
• November – Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue, R.E.M., Cindy Lauper, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
• December – Enrique Iglesias

As bands continue to see traditional income streams decrease, international tours to new locations will become major ways to make money and increase their listening base.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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