Bon Jovi earns more than Katy Perry, Kanye West and Bieber combined!

[melvinspeed]

Interesting article Here

 

If you're not making a buck with your band... maybe you should develop an "older" crowd with more disposable income. And then start selling those VIP packages.

 

"For $5, you can see the show. But for $10 you can watch us load in and load out. For $15 you can help us load in and out. For $20, our super-special VIP's get to change our sweaty tshirts after the show."

 

 

Jon Bon Jovi: Still Rockin, And Making A Killing

Posted Thu May 19, 2011 11:38am PDT by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes in Stop The Presses!

The next time you play Rock Band don't invite Jon Bon Jovi. The 49- year-old singer's wife and kids recently convinced him to give the popular videogame a try. So he picked up the microphone and launched into a rendition of his classic "Wanted Dead or Alive," backed by family on virtual guitars and drums. He never made it through the song.

 

"I failed--it buzzed me down," Bon Jovi admits over lunch in Manhattan.

 

Fortunately for Bon Jovi, audiences in real arenas around the world are kinder. His eponymous band took home $125 million over the past 12 months by FORBES' estimates, more than any other music act besides U2--and more than relative whippersnappers Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Kanye West combined. In the past year the band has played 74 gigs in 15 nations, grossing $203 million in ticket sales and $20 million in merchandise; Bon Jovi ranks No. 8 on this year's Celebrity 100.

 

 

Surprised? Bon Jovi out-earns younger, glitzier acts thanks to a relatively affluent, aging fan base who turn out to hear the ballads of their youth and see a tightly run touring machine built on decades of experience.

 

"They're one of the highest-grossing bands every year," says veteran concert promoter Ron Delsener. "Jon is a workaholic, constantly touring, constantly making loads of money."

 

Whereas Lady Gaga schleps dozens of dancers from town to town and needs 28 trucks to cart her equipment, Bon Jovi typically plays with six people. A dozen trucks carry the gear, including a circular stage and 192 double-sided LED video screens connected with a specially designed motion control system, which allows them to come together to form a screen 13 feet high and 40 feet wide. At arenas like Montreal's 21,500-capacity Bell Center, the in-theround setup lets the band sell up to 5,500 more tickets than a traditional arena stage would. Wherever possible Bon Jovi plays consecutive nights at the same venue to cut back on setup and strike costs. By playing 12 shows in 19 days at London's O2 arena the band saved $300,000.

 

"It wasn't some conscious decision to be penny-pinching. I think it's just wise to be efficient," says Bon Jovi. "I know big bands where each of them has personal assistants on the road, each of them has a security guard. We don't have a security guard. Take your own friggin' bags!"

 

On the revenue side the band's U.S. fans sport an average household income of $78,989, slightly higher than the mean for the 350 music groups tracked by research firm NPD's Brand Link database. The economic difference between Bon Jovi's fans and those of, say, Justin Bieber ($71,389) or Metallica ($71,089) is more than enough to cover a pricey special like the Crush Package, which comes with a grab bag of perks and tchotchkes, including souvenir lanyards, autographed lithographs and two front-row seats that you can fold up and take home after the show. The average cost for this VIP treatment is $2,550 per couple; lowend alternatives set you back $450. Bon Jovi sells an average of 600 individual special package tickets per arena show.

 

Though regular tickets start at $20, these packages push Bon Jovi's average price to $95, about 50% higher than acts like the Dave Matthews Band ($59) and the Black Eyed Peas ($63). Bon Jovi shows have up to 20 different price points, including special packages; on a recent tour AC/DC offered only one.

 

"Jon is a businessman," says co-manager David Munns. "He knows what it takes to have a great-quality show, but he also knows how to be efficient with money."

 

Born in 1962 in Perth Amboy, N.J., a rough port town just south of New York City, Bon Jovi decided to be a rock star at age 13 after seeing the Doobie Brothers in Erie, Pa. His break came when he wrote and recorded the song "Runaway." He sent his tape out to record labels but didn't receive any responses. So in 1983 he took his cassette to Long Island's WAPP, a station so new it didn't yet have a receptionist. He banged on the window of the DJ's booth and convinced him to play the song. Within months it hit number 39 on the Billboard charts. "That same cassette that was sitting on every record guy's desk was suddenly getting me phone calls," he says.

 

Mercury Records signed Bon Jovi that year. He clipped his name from John Francis Bongiovi Jr. and recruited guitarist Richie Sambora, drummer Tico Torres, keyboardist David Bryan and bassist Alec John Such to form his band. They're still together (minus Such, who left the band in 1994), but it isn't an equal partnership: Bon Jovi keeps the bulk of the earnings, whereas bands like U2 split proceeds evenly.

 

Slippery When Wet, released in 1986, secured his career. Anthems "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" helped sell 28 million copies of the album worldwide and still get standing ovations. In the two years that followed Bon Jovi played 480 shows around the world and released another album. In 1992 an increasingly ambitious Bon Jovi took the group's business into his own hands, forming Bon Jovi Management with longtime tour manager Paul Korzilius-- and dismissed manager Doc McGhee. "It just got to a point where I said, 'I can't pay you 20% of the gross, and I can't see this vision,'" Bon Jovi says. "My peers wanted to be on the cover of Circus. I wanted to be on the cover of Time."

 

Since then the band has produced hits like "It's My Life" in 2000 and the country-leaning "Who Says You Can't Go Home" in 2006. Last year the band released Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection, which reached number one on Billboard's rock charts. It hasn't been all smooth sailing: In April Bon Jovi confirmed Sambora would be "absent from upcoming shows" after the guitarist reportedly checked himself into a rehab center.

 

But the tour rolls on, at least for now. "I don't know if I want to be 68 and doing 140 shows in a year," Bon Jovi admits. Even if the crowds--and the profits-- are still there.

[Poker99]

 

If you're not making a buck with your band... maybe you should develop an "older" crowd with more disposable income. And then start selling those VIP packages.

 

 

You need nostalgia. Independant bands don't have this.

[daddymack]

I think melvin's comment was tongue in cheek...but the reality is tha tlegacy acts can and do make money. That doesn't help those of us still in the trenches, but it does say that there are still people who value the music they grew up with... a point I touched on in another thread about generational differences. Today's music is viewed as disposable....to my generation, it was essential.

[Scafeets]

 

You need nostalgia. Independant bands don't have this.

 

 

I don't think the majority of fans are there for "nostalgia." Quality songs and performances are timeless. If you were to check the age at a Bon Jovi show, I bet half of them weren't even in kindergarten when "Slippery When Wet" came out. Artists as diverse a James Taylor, Steely Dan, Joe Satriani, Bonnie Raitt, Mettalica and The Stones continue to sell tickets because their music continues to win new fans while keeping the old ones.

This approach works for jazz, blues and classical -- why shouldn't it work for rock?

[fingerpicker]

I think Sambora is in rehab---he wasn't at the Orlando show last week

[kurdy]

 

I don't think the majority of fans are there for "nostalgia." Quality songs and performances are timeless. If you were to check the age at a Bon Jovi show, I bet half of them weren't even in kindergarten when "Slippery When Wet" came out. Artists as diverse a James Taylor, Steely Dan, Joe Satriani, Bonnie Raitt, Mettalica and The Stones continue to sell tickets because their music continues to win new fans while keeping the old ones. This approach works for jazz, blues and classical -- why shouldn't it work for rock?

 

 

But a good percentage of them are there for nostalgic reasons, and that’s probably the key. You have the older crowd who is there to recapture a part of their youth, and the younger crowd who no longer thinks it’s “uncool” to like their parents’ music. Bon Jovi likely sells so many tickets because they appeal to both crowds. Whereas acts like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber only appeal to one of them. So it makes sense that the newer acts aren’t selling as many tickets.

[daddymack]

...well...that and the new music sux...

[sfarfsky]

, which comes with a grab bag of perks and tchotchkes, including souvenir lanyards, autographed lithographs and two front-row seats that you can fold up and take home after the show. The average cost for this VIP treatment is $2,550 per couple; lowend alternatives set you back $450. Bon Jovi sells an average of 600 individual special package tickets per arena show.

That makes a lot of sense

[Anderton]

"On the revenue side the band's U.S. fans sport an average household income of $78,989, slightly higher than the mean for the 350 music groups tracked by research firm NPD's Brand Link database. The economic difference between Bon Jovi's fans and those of, say, Justin Bieber ($71,389) or Metallica ($71,089)"

 

Where are they getting that info? Do people have to give their income before they can buy a ticket? Maybe mother's maiden name and social security number, too?

 

But back to the issue at hand...I think some it is that Bon Jovi gets more exposure than, say, Katy Perry. Some of his songs are on movies or TV shows, segments get played as bumper music, he's still on TV in various contexts, etc. And, the music is both audience- and radio-friendly - big choruses, easy hooks to remember.

 

The phenomenon of kids tuning in to "old people's music" is real. For a while when I was at airports and saw kids with an iPod, I'd ask what they were listening to in the hopes of getting turned on to some cool new music. "Pink Floyd." "AC/DC." "Led Zeppelin." Every now and then there would be a Slipknot or Eminem or whatever, but most of the time, it was music that was already on oldies stations before the kids were born.

[flatfinger]

The phenomenon of kids tuning in to "old people's music" is real. For a while when I was at airports and saw kids with an iPod, I'd ask what they were listening to in the hopes of getting turned on to some cool new music. "Pink Floyd." "AC/DC." "Led Zeppelin." Every now and then there would be a Slipknot or Eminem or whatever, but most of the time, it was music that was already on oldies stations before the kids were born.

 

 

 

What's the big deal ? when I grew up in the 70's , we all listened to Sinatra and patsy Cline!! (NOT)

[BuckshotJenkins]

Certain bands, like my favorite Steely Dan are just too awesome not to go see, though their age hasn't ruined their dirty old man hipster image.

 

It's more a case of only having one lineup playing stuff that was done with many sick players and certain atmospheres. Bands that stay together should technically be able to get closer to their old "glory days" soundwise than many others. People like that I guess. No way for the Dan to do it. They are the best cover band with Don and Walt, and a crack team that is as slick as they can be.

 

None of that newish pop stuff has any chance at longevity. With our rapid fire technology and ADD society, I don't know if any of today's artist can command the masses attention long enough to stockpile sustained huge crowds. There is more chance at instant exposure with technology, but it's a double edged sword.

[daddymack]

"On the revenue side the band's U.S. fans sport an average household income of $78,989, slightly higher than the mean for the 350 music groups tracked by research firm NPD's Brand Link database. The economic difference between Bon Jovi's fans and those of, say, Justin Bieber ($71,389) or Metallica ($71,089)" Where are they getting that info? Do people have to give their income before they can buy a ticket? Maybe mother's maiden name and social security number, too?

I have to say I seriously doubt that Bieber's fans are earning in the low 70s...come on...15 year old girls just don't command that kind of salary, even in Hollywood...or Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Sherman Oaks....they may be looking at data based on the credit card used to order the ticket

[sfarfsky]

We're hitting different points but we all think that paragraph is ridiculous.

[Surrealistic]

What's the big deal ? when I grew up in the 70's , we all listened to Sinatra and patsy Cline!! (NOT)

Actually I and some of my friends DID listen to Frank back at school in the 70's - originally with a kind of knowing irony but shortly afterwards just because it was great stuff. Mind you, we were very very cool (of course )

[dragoro]

I still listen to Frank.

[richardmac]

I never cared for Frank's music but I definitely respect what he did in his career. As far as Bon Jovi is concerned - more power to him. He's out there still raking in the cash... good for him. You'd think the guy would get real damn sick of playing the same damn songs over and over and over and over. And over. But I guess not. I've always disliked his music myself - Livin' On A Prayer was a very catchy song but may have had the world's dumbest lyrics. Doesn't matter. He's working like mad. I think some of these guys get addicted to touring. It's not like he needs the money.

[Nijyo]

 

I don't think the majority of fans are there for "nostalgia." Quality songs and performances are timeless. If you were to check the age at a Bon Jovi show, I bet half of them weren't even in kindergarten when "Slippery When Wet" came out. Artists as diverse a James Taylor, Steely Dan, Joe Satriani, Bonnie Raitt, Mettalica and The Stones continue to sell tickets because their music continues to win new fans while keeping the old ones. This approach works for jazz, blues and classical -- why shouldn't it work for rock?

 

 

2 years ago I went to an Iron Maiden concert (it was the last time they were on OzFest, they stopped over with Rob Zombie (*yawn*) and Mastodon (*blech*) on their way to Cali) and the average age of the audience by the time Maiden hit the stage was probably about 1/2 the age of the band itself.

 

Add to that the fact they were only playing songs from their first 5 albums (ending ~1985 or so), and I think there's definitely something to the idea that a quality show transcends age.

[Dessalines]

 

I never cared for Frank's music but I definitely respect what he did in his career. As far as Bon Jovi is concerned - more power to him. He's out there still raking in the cash... good for him. You'd think the guy would get real damn sick of playing the same damn songs over and over and over and over. And over. But I guess not. I've always disliked his music myself - Livin' On A Prayer was a very catchy song but may have had the world's dumbest lyrics. Doesn't matter. He's working like mad. I think some of these guys get addicted to touring. It's not like he needs the money.

 

 

 

One thing that can be said about Sinatra, (and I'm not a fan but I am a singer), you can hear every word the man sings clear as a bell. His real claim to fame is that fact, aside from his pseudo wise guy image. The best phraser there has ever been, to this very day.

[fingerpicker]

 

On the revenue side the band's U.S. fans sport an average household income of $78,989, slightly higher than the mean for the 350 music groups tracked by research firm NPD's Brand Link database. The economic difference between Bon Jovi's fans and those of, say, Justin Bieber ($71,389) or Metallica ($71,089)"

 

This alone makes me think the whole article=rubbish.

[ApolloRoyalin]

I think every generation will have a band/artist that will stand the test of time, there just aren't that many.