Stats for Houston, Dallas, Bossier City, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Green Bay, Grand Rapids, Cleveland, Bridgeport and Providence after the jump:
Aug 24: Houston, Texas: 8,720 of 10,076 (87%): Revenue: $533,616
Aug 25: Dallas, Texas: 9,501 of 10,837 (88%): Revenue: $582,500
Aug 26: Bossier City, La: 5,924 of 7,439 (80%): Revenue: $376,342
Aug 28: Oklahoma City, Okla: 6,376 of 7,926 (80%): Revenue: $397,292
Aug 29-30: Kansas City, MO: 24,369 of 26,059 (94%): Revenue: $1,408,171 (2)
Aug 31: Minneapolis, Minn: 9,977 of 11,478 (87%%): Revenue: $602,112
Sep 2: Green Bay, Wis: 5,556 of 7,495 (74%): Revenue: $349,598
Sep 3: Grand Rapids, Mich: 7,689 of 10,225 (75%): Revenue: $472,623
Sep 4: Cleveland, Ohio: 7,226 of 10,269 (70%): Revenue: $441,364
Sep 6: Bridgeport, Conn: 8,184 of 8,184 (100%): Revenue: $506,269
Sep 7: Providence, RI: 8,884 of 8,884 (100%): Revenue: $547,070
Summary (this set): 102,406 of 118,872 (86%) Total Revenue: 6,216,957 Avg Revenue: $518,080
Summary (48 concerts): 454,251 of 530,924 (86%) Total Revenue: $27,634,073
Avg Revenue: $575,710
I have to disagree with that. Bucky has a major label, a great team and promotion behind him. He had TONS of advance promotion before his album came out. Johns is on his own. If only Kristy Lee had been signed by Lyric street. Her promotion so far has been nearly non-existent.
And as far as the concert is concerned, Michael was a hit. Bucky had his fans, but I know of many people who used his set as a bathroom break.
My impressions are what I’ve experienced at all the many concerts I’ve attended. Attributing 90% of the interest to the David’s is too high, imo.
ETA: I don’t disagree that S5 was more popular, but I thought you made some very broad, general points that needed clarifying.
I’m not arguing AI with the master, no way especially since I didn’t attend a S7 show.
I agree Michael J will have a tough road as an indie. Much, much harder than Bucky did with a label behind him. Right now Elliott’s the only one to make it work, but good luck to anyone who takes that tough road.
I just like using the Magic 8 Ball and right now all I can see are the Davids, and maybe Jason standing in a year. But I love surprises and maybe S7 will provide some.
TPTB have to be happy with the S7 tour numbers though. It’s a big improvement from last year.
JPfan, Kristy went out at Number 7, Michael went out at Number 8.
I think that you underestimate Jason’s fanbase but I won’t even get into that with you. I just wanted to clarify the order of elimination that you confused in one of your earlier posts.
I’m a stickler for terms here, but Bucky does not have a major label. In the music biz, “major label” has a specific meaning and it means one of the Big 4 (Sony/BMG, EMI, Universal or Warner). Together, these 4 account for 81.87% of the US market (and 71.7% of the global market). The rest of the biz scraps over the remaining 18.13% of the market. Sony/BMG itself has 25.61% of the US market (21.5% of the world market).
Bucky signed with Lyric labels which is a sub-label of Disney which has had tremendous success in recent years, but it is not a major (some might call it a major-indie). It’s actually a very tiny operation (and very stream-lined). There is no doubt that Lyric Street is an amazing little label that does a lot. Kristy signed with the second largest music company in the world. She has the contract with the major label. And, let’s not give all the credit to Lyric here, Phil signed with them too and his sales aren’t close to what Josh and Bucky got so I think they get some credit too.
For some reason, I’ve always liked Bucky (I don’t like country and normally when somebody does not articulate, it drives me nuts), but I would never have predicted he would be the success he was. Jordin surprised me too. So, sometimes it’s hard to predict.
I have a soft spot for S6, but I doubt they sold out any shows. I have to vote for Sanjaya sandbagging the season more than helping it. He might have been amusing on the tv but I don’t think THAT many people are gonna buy tickets at AI’s prices to watch him sing, live.
S5 to me epitomized the show as hype vs. the show as talent. IMO the public figured it out by the next year and said “no thanks”, which is why they had to regroup to emphasizing talent (and getting the “boring” tag from some) for S7.
YMMV!
Kirsten, thanks for the info about the labels. That was very helpful and I think I understand it for the first time. I’m no country fan but I always liked Bucky. I was really rooting for him after his season but I’m still surprised he’s done so well.
I think personality is important in country music which makes me think KLC is in big trouble even with a huge label behind her.
I think that hindsight is 20/20. With the post Idol successes of some of the S5 group, it’s easy to forget what their actual stature was at the end of Season 5 and during the tour. I think both Bucky and Kellie have gained fans outside their AI fan bases and are more popular now than they were during their AI runs. I would not have predicted the success of either of them. And there was MUCH discussion post Season 5 as to the viability of Elliott Yamin as a pop artist. Time will tell.
As far as the Major label thing…I apologize for my imprecise words, but my original point was that Bucky, hooked up with a successful label (if not a major one), has a huge leg up on Michael who is on his own. If MJ can hook up with some connected people like Elliott did, he may survive, but the Indie route is a tough road to hoe.
I know I was being pedantic, but I think it’s important for people to realize just how the Big 4 monopolize the industry. If they control 81.87% of the music biz and companies like Disney are considered Indies, it just shows you how tough it is for Michael. And as much of the actual music those Big 4 control, they have almost a complete lock on the distribution channel.s Major-indies like Disney and Curb have to rely on the Big 4’s distribution arms to get CDs in the stores (Disney uses Universal) . That was one of the major coups that Elliott got. He managed to get one of the Big 4 distribution wings (Sony/BMG’s) to distribute his CD. Most independent artists can’t even get that. Elliott still had to create a CD that people wanted to buy, but if his CD hadn’t have gotten into stores, it would have been even tougher to pull the numbers that he did.
I think Elliott’s distributor is Red which distributes indie albums for Sony/BMG. But I don’t think being with Red is any big deal. I think Constantine is with them as well. I think MJ said he’s getting an Elliott deal which I think means he’ll get RED distribution as well.
I think it’s promotion that kills the indie artists. They may have a few albums in the stores (not well displayed, of course) but the vast number of people in the world don’t know it. I’m glad I didn’t know how tough going indie really is or I would have even been a more anxious Elliott fan than I was.
Elliott just had the whole “lovable” persona thing going after his season. That gave him some buzz to kick start the career and he was lucky to have the Big Top 40 hit. Micheal Johns better have a great single that radio is dying to play or it’s going to be very tough.
Elliott also has a cousin who is a big player in the industry. That doesn’t hurt either.
As much as I like Elliott, I’m a bit worried for his future. He struck while the iron was hot, but I’m not sure his success actually stuck like Kellie’s has. I guess we’ll see. Any news of a new album (other than the re-vamped Christmas one?)
I really don’t see MJ selling a lot of records and I’m not even sure how large of a fanbase he has. But, who am I to predict?
I’m not sure radio is dying to hear any singles.
I think E was in the right place, with the right song, at the right time, with the right connections. I really doubt MJ can duplicate that, but who knows?
As for KLC, why the heck did they sign her and not promote her? Has she received the same promotion as Kellie? I can’t remember what Kellie got.
I’m not terribly impressed with KLC, but if they signed her, they should promote her, no?
E may not even be able to duplicate that again. I agree it’s going to be very tough for Michael.
The music biz is very, very tough these days. Elliott had one big hit and that was it. There was no major label to get him on a tour, get more national promo, etc. So who knows what happens for album two. I think Elliott is a unique talent but I don’t live in Lala land.
The good news for Elliott is that his Target Xmas album sold 90K and radio played his Xmas songs. So he is more than a one hit wonder. Plus, he’s really doing well in Japan and Taiwan. That doesn’t mean much in the US. but it means that the great voice can make new fans. And that pays his bills and keeps him doing the music he loves.
I hope Elliott is signed to a major label when the two album deal with Hickory is over. Being an indie is really rough. Except for Elliott, it’s really been the kiss of death for Idol contestants, sadly.
Actually, there’s a pretty nice niche for indie artists, but not so much ones from American Idol. I think that’s the rub. I remember after some of us saw James Morrison in Chicago, I emailed a DJ at my local AAA station and asked if they would play him. He scoffed at me and said that at this time, the only James Morrison they would play was from the Doors (they later played him though, lol). I can’t imagine what the response would be if I asked them to play Taylor Hicks or Blake Lewis or Bo Bice.
I think fan expectations are sometimes a tad lofty. I know mine have shifted since Season 4, when I first started watching and thought Bo Bice was going to make a “very special” album with Clive Davis. Ahem.
I still say that if these kids can make music, get paid, and not work a day job, then they have come out ahead, even if they aren’t superstars.
I agree 100% doing music and getting paid = a winner . Indie and Idol don’t mix for some reason though. Maybe it’s like oil and water