Australia doesn't quite know what the fuck is happening 2017 - 2039

[kabigon]

U2 and Live nation are looking regional - Aust/NZ/Asia etc - Live Nation have an Asian subsidiary and it's usually a bundle tour (like Madonna's Rebel Heart tour).

Sorry - just re-read my post and yeah it reads like Mildura is getting a show lol lol

Any word on arenas or stadiums?

 

[cobl04]

Regional tour means beyond the five big capital cities, friggin'.

But the chances of U2 doing anywhere like Darwin, Cairns, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Launceston, or Hobart seem impossibly remote.

Yes I’m well aware of that haha but there’s literally no chance they will play outside of the five cities.

 

[Axver]

U2 and Live nation are looking regional - Aust/NZ/Asia etc - Live Nation have an Asian subsidiary and it's usually a bundle tour (like Madonna's Rebel Heart tour).

Sorry - just re-read my post and yeah it reads like Mildura is getting a show lol lol

Ooh gotcha. So maybe more than just Japan for Asia? Would be about bloody time.

I still want that Wollongong show though.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

If they do actually play a large Asian tour I'm guessing it will be all arenas or a mix. The Asian circuit is now full of decent, modern 12,000-20,000 seat arenas. Stadium wise though it's get a bit spottier. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and South Korea (along with the Japanese domes) have decent stadium infrastructure - however outside of them it's hit and miss. Some of the venues Coldplay toured were ridiculous - the plaza in from a train station in Taiwan...

Arena wise you have new modern arenas in Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, KL, Singapore, New Delhi etc etc. as well as China and Japan.

I personally would lean towards stadium however the relative failure of Madonna's tour last year shocked the shit out of Live Nation. Thus they are pretty gun shy about stadiums unless it's a huge buzzy act - even Paul McCartney is playing the medium sized stadiums (bar Brisbane) and is playing arena dates in Sydney.

 

[Kieran McConville]

If U2 came to Toowoomba I might go.

 

[dan_smee]

Play fucking Canberra. Bigger acts have started coming, we are the nation’s capital with a population of approx 500k, and reasonably sized regional centres (Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Cooma) very close.we don’t have an arena big enough though. My trade off would be arenas in Syd/Melb, it a Canberra show

 

[philly80]

Play fucking Canberra. Bigger acts have started coming, we are the nation’s capital with a population of approx 500k, and reasonably sized regional centres (Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Cooma) very close.we don’t have an arena big enough though. My trade off would be arenas in Syd/Melb, it a Canberra show

I hear ya Dan!! i live in Sydney but grew up in Cootamundra - we now have a farm at collecter and all my family are in Goulburn / Canberra.

I think Canberra would be awesome for a U2 concert!!

 

[travelleru2]

I think Australia might be lucky and get arenas this time around.

 

[cobl04]

give us something, puppy

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Sorry guys - been flat out working on the presale for Pink - the next week or so is going to be bloody ridiculous - but good news is I'll get to have a chat with a contact tomorrow and will dig a bit deeper.

 

[cobl04]

How many shows will she do this time?

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

How many shows will she do this time?

Initial routing suggests 6 Perth (2 on sale initially), 4 Adelaide (2 initially), 12-14 in Melbourne (4 initially), 10 Sydney (4 initially) and 6 Brisbane (2 initially).

No regional shows are planned at this time - no Canberra/Newcastle etc.

Current routing has a final Brisbane date (if needed) on August 28 as she is off to New Zealand for a run there. Of course beyond NZ she could come back for a second swing but it is being sold as a "Strictly Limited Run" this time (maxing out at up to 40 arena shows - down from 58 in 2009 and 46 in 2013).

Big change this tour - she has added VIP packages for the first time as well as A, B, C and D reserve price points (last time was just A and B reserves and no VIP) and some cities
(Sydney and Melbourne only at this point) will have 'concierge' seats where they will bring food and drink to your seat (like a Gold Class cinema).

LN and Pink are going to make a mint.

And I'm going to be balls deep in shit for the next fortnight.

 

[cobl04]

I cannot believe that she can pull that much. She's completely irrelevant. I don't get it. Ariana Grande is way more popular now and she only did two shows at RLA.

So there's no desire to break her own record?

 

[travelleru2]

Sorry guys - been flat out working on the presale for Pink - the next week or so is going to be bloody ridiculous - but good news is I'll get to have a chat with a contact tomorrow and will dig a bit deeper.

Sounds great! Cant wait to hear what you find out!

 

[travelleru2]

Initial routing suggests 6 Perth (2 on sale initially), 4 Adelaide (2 initially), 12-14 in Melbourne (4 initially), 10 Sydney (4 initially) and 6 Brisbane (2 initially).



No regional shows are planned at this time - no Canberra/Newcastle etc.



Current routing has a final Brisbane date (if needed) on August 28 as she is off to New Zealand for a run there. Of course beyond NZ she could come back for a second swing but it is being sold as a "Strictly Limited Run" this time (maxing out at up to 40 arena shows - down from 58 in 2009 and 46 in 2013).



Big change this tour - she has added VIP packages for the first time as well as A, B, C and D reserve price points (last time was just A and B reserves and no VIP) and some cities

(Sydney and Melbourne only at this point) will have 'concierge' seats where they will bring food and drink to your seat (like a Gold Class cinema).



LN and Pink are going to make a mint.



And I'm going to be balls deep in shit for the next fortnight.

Hope U2 do a shit tonne of arena shows like that but not all those categories and packages haha Concierge seats at a concert..... geeez

 

[kabigon]

They said last night on the telly that Pink will be here in July.. So no U2 arena shows around then presumably or it'd be mighty difficult to schedule with all of Pink's shows.

 

[travelleru2]

They said last night on the telly that Pink will be here in July.. So no U2 arena shows around then presumably or it'd be mighty difficult to schedule with all of Pink's shows.

No way they will play Aus in July... They will be in the US or Europe. I reckon we I reckon we get them either March/April period or Nov/Dec.

 

[kabigon]

If they plan them for Nov/Dec 2018, I fear they'll just be pushed back indefinitely as always.

 

[travelleru2]

If they plan them for Nov/Dec 2018, I fear they'll just be pushed back indefinitely as always.

Just reading back through the thread and puppy said the dates had moved from April to Oct..... Hey as long as we get something confirmed and on sale in December I don't mind, but I would love it to be April but doubt they will open the tour here.

On a positive though I dont think they would do stadiums in October or April somehow.... So that might mean arenas. Nov/Dec would be OK for stadiums but acts play Nov/Dec in arenas a fair bit anyway, its a popular concert time here.

 

[kabigon]

October always feels a little sparse event-wise so it wouldn't be a bad time for them to get a little more attention, apart from having to wait a year.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

OK - so had a bit of a chinwag and while nothing obviously concrete was discussed here is what I found out.

Basically Guy wants U2 to play arenas, Live Nation wants mid-sized stadiums. The sticking point is the band are yet to commit to an extended Asian run but it looks likely if the decision is stadiums it will be late 2018. If it is arenas they can be slotted in anytime except July-August where most venues are in use for the Pink/Katy Perry monster tours. There is talk of another Cirque Du Soleil arena tour in late 2018 - though nothing is set in stone.

It is now less likely any shows will be in the first half of 2018 but not out of the question as European shows are being firmed up first. No word on if they are stadiums or arenas. After TJT'17 I'd assume indoors as they have already exhausted a large portion of their non-core audience.

The main delay and issue is that Madonna really fucked it up for big Australian tours.

The Rebel Heart tour was expected to be a huge run and sell out a few weeks of shows. This didn't happen - and apart from the first Melbourne gig she didn't come close to "selling" out any shows (lots of comps were given to fill the Sydney shows for filming and both Brisbane shows were poorly attended).

Her ridiculous ticket price points (and refusing to drop prices until a few weeks before the shows) completely out-priced the market. While you could easily say it was strictly the prices - to promoters it read as audience fatigue.

This cost us Beyonce's Formation Tour that was tentatively scheduled for 3 shows in early November 2016 (The Gabba in Brisbane was firmly booked - not sure of the other 2 venues but obviously Melb/Syd). It almost cost us Paul McCartney and caused Metallica to delay their tour.

Just touching on Pink - her management is spot on the money not aiming for any record breaking runs. Album sales are down across the board - so they fully expect 'Beautiful Trauma' will struggle to match 50% of the sales 'Funhouse' and 'The Truth About Love' had. Thus they know she will be a huge live draw - but also her audience is getting older and not as rabid as they used to be. Nonetheless she will sell out many shows and make many people very happy.

Just a little final tidbit - we are going to see "dynamic pricing" very soon. Thus while there will be a few dedicated seats at certain price points (say 500 at $100, 500 at $200 etc) the remaining 80% will be fluid and if a promoter sees the higher end tickets selling well then lower seats will be able to be marked up at a moments notice. Which fucking sucks.

 

[Axver]

So is this why Muse are coming down here for just two shows? I was surprised that they're only doing Melbourne and Sydney, not even Brisbane, even more surprised that each city gets just one show when they got multiples in the past, and most surprised that with such a limited run the shows are in arenas. I would've thought that Muse are at the point that if they're doing just two shows in all of Australia they could go to a mid-sized stadium.

Though speaking of that, if Live Nation get their way for U2, what stadiums count as "mid-sized"? AAMI Stadium rather than Etihad in Melbourne? Gabba rather than Suncorp in Brisbane? SCG or Spotless rather than ANZ in Sydney?

And thanks muchly for the update mate, most appreciated!

 

[kabigon]

Thanks puppy.

I didn't realise how much sales performance by one artist has such an effect on other artists coming here, even if they appear to have completely different audiences.

 

[cobl04]

Thanks legend. Sounds to me like it could easily result in us being skipped altogether once again

That's crazy about the Madonna stuff. So because she sold so shit, it spooked everyone else into making the commitment? Fucking devastating to hear it cost us Formation, I'd have loved to have seen that show. What's your take? Was it prices or was it other factors? And how much were the Madonna tickets?

I'd rather not think about dynamic pricing, I fucking hate capitalism so much.

I guess it means 'Melbourne Rectangular Stadium' - holds about 35k max for concerts. I'll sure as shit take that over Etihad.

 

[kabigon]

This talk of an extended Asian run makes me a little hopeful as any Australia talk would presumably be linked. If only Australia was rumoured, it'd be easier to cast it aside.

 

[travelleru2]

Thanks heaps for the info puppy.....

Damn I really hope we dont miss out. Seriously they could easily sell out at least 2 arenas in each big city.....

Shane Madonna had to stuff it up. U2 would still draw a crowd imo its been 7 years....

As long as tickets are stupid prices.

I hope Guy gets his way on this one. Areans any day. Either U2 play big stadiums or arenas imo not the Gabba, NIB etc

 

[travelleru2]

If they just arnt committed to a full Asia run, does this mean we should still see the tour in Australia regardless?

 

[ChargedVT]

I think they will announce all 2018 dates in one go, like they did for 2015.
I know that if they announce US and Europe upfront with no Aus dates there will be a shitstorm amongst Aussie fans as it will look like we've missed out for the THIRD time in a row. I honestly don't think we will miss out. We all know the next tour won't be for another 4 years or so.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Just to bulk answer a few questions/comments.

Muse are claiming they will be back late next year for a full tour however I'd find it unlikely they'd drag the whole set up down again so soon - especially as there are still a few seats left for both December shows.

Midsized is classed as AAMI Park in Melbourne, Football Stadium in Sydney, Gabba or Suncorp (depends on configuration) in Brisbane.

The issue with Madonna was she promised for three prior tours (Confessions, Stocky And Sweet and MDNA) that she would come. It got to the point that she went as far as posting an apology video specifically to Aussie fans on YouTube. That - plus the 22 year wait - meant that Live Nation was expecting an absolute slam dunk.

Arthur Fogel (LN CEO) himself stepped in and said it was time she toured again - and boom - there were the dates. It was publicised in Billboard, NME, on the US Rolling Stone site - touring Australia after so long was seen as a victory for her fans and gave her great publicity.

Telstra's presale was a disaster. The fan club and Citibank presales fell well below expectations - and on the actual public sale date the $2,000 'Front row' seats and the $99 C reserve seats sold. Annnnnnnd that was kind of it. By the end of week one most shows were at 50% sold (or less). The tour was condensed from a Saturday and Sunday night in each of Melb, Syd and Brissy to Saturday and Sunday in Melbourne, Wednesday and Thursday in Brisbane and Saturday and Sunday in Sydney. A planned three week tour stripped back to a week and a half.

Tickets kept selling in dribs and drabs - only Melbourne's first night coming close to a complete sell out. It was an absolute disaster. In the weeks prior to the shows the A reserve seats ($499 originally) and B reserve ($249 originally) were slashed to $99. Still - there were few takers.

Factor in the fact word spread that she didn't even go on stage until 11:00-11:30pm and suddenly there were a few hundred refund requests for each show before she got here. To add insult to injury the venues themselves were advised to allow refunds on the night when hundreds more left after waiting hours beyond the advertised 8pm start.

Add in the low ticket sales of the other premium price points ($800+ for runway side seats only sold in pairs and $1100 for 'Heart Stage' seats at the end of the runway as well as a cruise package (without a ticket included) to the show in Sydney) and suddenly bringing a big show here looked risky.

Basically Madonna got her $$$, Live Nation scraped through.

Sorry that was a lot of info - but it is truly fascinating to see how a sure thing became an absolute disaster.

Asia and Australia are still seperate touring markets - but are getting linked a lot more. U2 would still come (as they have many times before) without any Asian dates. It just makes more financial sense to put it all together. Australia has been a cash cow - we happily pay well above what acts get elsewhere - sometimes two or three times above and beyond. The old "small market so far away" argument is now tempered (luckily) by the booming Asian circuit and NZ.

 

[Axver]

Holy shit, I seriously can't believe the Madonna tour tanked like that. After the long wait I assumed that would've been one of the best-grossing international tours. Is there an explanation better than "market fatigue"? Some of those price points are just insane. Cashed up bogans and boomers (boomergans?) are a lucrative source of dollarydoos but there's surely a limit to what any sane person will drop on seats and insane VIP packages and shit like that.

Makes me wonder what Pink has got to be able to tour so lucratively while Madonna can't. I'd assume they have pretty strong market crossover.