Transport a concert promoter from the turn-of-the-century to the present, and they might have trouble wrapping their heads around today’s experiential concert scene. The show itself is the engine that pays for nearly everything now, from artist discovery to recording to touring. Yes, today’s ticket prices and ticket fees reflect that. But so do such operational streamliners as smart-phone entry and ticketholder verification, expanded opportunities for merch (more a piece of the revenue pie than ever), a variety of tiered fan experiences and myriad other ways to elevate a show into an event. We’ve got the venue managers and bookers who operate in the new live world, and they’ll tell you how it works.
