I don't think this has been brought up before. Does an opening act get a percentage of the gate say 15% or are they paid a flat rate?

Volgens mij verdienen die gasten geen klote en moge ze gewoon heel erg blij zijn ('priceless adventure')

They get the opportunity to open for the Stones. Ain't that enough?

Seriously, I doubt they get much more than that.

It used to be: exposure to a white audience.

Now: exposure to an older audience.

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Sam Spade
I don't think this has been brought up before. Does an opening act get a percentage of the gate say 15% or are they paid a flat rate?

I have no idea.

However, I think 'points' on the gate would be unlikely. Probably a flat rate, depending on the band.

The honor

__________________________

Some of these bands that have opened for the Stones in recent years are not necessarily in need of exposure. Bands like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox Twenty, Metallica, etc, weren't exactly small time opening bands who are just happy to be playing for an audience. Perhaps they do it for the honor of opening for the Stones. To get to watch them from the stage and possibly join them on stage for a song. Maybe they don't get paid, but I'm sure their expenses are probably covered. So they get some exposure and the pleasure of opening for the Stones for free. At least I would imagine. But many of these acts can fill a stadium of their own.

" Does an opening act get a percentage of the gate say 15% or are they paid a flat rate?"

15%? You want Jagger to commit suicide?
Most often the artists play for next to nothing. They manage to break even cos their on-tour bills are paid by their record label. Said label hopes a return on their investment in the future will happen (bigger sales larger following).

If you open for the Stones and play in front of 100000 people you might interest 5% of the audience = 5000 potential new ppl who'll buy your cd and will come to see you live.

Sloppy seconds with the groupies. But boy, are those groupies hot!

.....don't ya mean looooooooose ....



ROCKMAN

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keefbajaga
Volgens mij verdienen die gasten geen klote en moge ze gewoon heel erg blij zijn ('priceless adventure')

Blogu dalabo raduk bla dumbu haba haba femolugodubu blubsu grala bloda momo lulu bla.

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midnrambler

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keefbajaga
Volgens mij verdienen die gasten geen klote en moge ze gewoon heel erg blij zijn ('priceless adventure')

Blogu dalabo raduk bla dumbu haba haba femolugodubu blubsu grala bloda momo lulu bla.

That is Latin for: "those guys don't earn a shit, they may just be happy to get this priceless-adventure"

It's ungreatful being there (except when you are ACDC) (almost) nobody wants to hear you

Hard to believe some of these acts thru the years worked for nothing or next to nothing.

Bob Dylan certainly didn't need any exposure in '95 or '98. Chuck Berry was well known in '69. Although she was on her own back in '81, Tina Turner wasn't exactly an unknown singer. Carlos Santana had been around and was well known in '97.

Thanks to timeisonourside for the info on opening acts.

[www.timeisonourside.com]

I think we should differ between ordinary support acts
(like Gun or Dan Reed Network) and special guests (like Dylan or AC/DC).
And we should differ between openers which were chosen by the Stones
(Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, The Meters, Billy Preston, etc.) which
surely got paid, or which were suggested (or even bought in) by the
record company (like ...err... Gun or Dan Reed Network).

N

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NeddieFlanders
I think we should differ between ordinary support acts
(like Gun or Dan Reed Network) and special guests (like Dylan or AC/DC).
And we should differ between openers which were chosen by the Stones
(Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, The Meters, Billy Preston, etc.) which
surely got paid, or which were suggested (or even bought in) by the
record company (like ...err... Gun or Dan Reed Network).

N

Agreed.

I wish John Popper was onstage playing harmonica for Midnight Rambler, doubt that will ever happen.

>>or even bought in) by the
record company (like ...err... Gun or Dan Reed Network).<<

Don't forget Starsailor!
I hope they had to pay to play.
in fact they should pay me for having to suffer through 3 shows in a row.

what kind of a support act is that?
I'd rather see a person paint a chair black and watch it dry.

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open-g
what kind of a support act is that?

The kind that makes the Stones look really, really good.

The openers don't usually sell many additional tickets. Do you think Steel Wheels would have been any less successful with no opener instead of Living Colour (who were a great band, by the way). Nah, the tour would have sold the same - those bands don't get paid much unless there's a REASON to pay them. Usually, its the label paying them.

Don't tell me AC/DC weren't booked to increase German ticketsales in 2003.
They had so many concerts planned in Germany that they needed a booster.

I remember they made the announcement on April 1st, I thought it was a fool and I had a tough time getting FOS tickets on April 2nd !

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

Hmmmmm. they get to play before a handfull of people who wish they would get lost . They came to see the Stones.

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NoCode0680
Some of these bands that have opened for the Stones in recent years are not necessarily in need of exposure. Bands like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox Twenty, Metallica, etc, weren't exactly small time opening bands who are just happy to be playing for an audience. Perhaps they do it for the honor of opening for the Stones. To get to watch them from the stage and possibly join them on stage for a song. Maybe they don't get paid, but I'm sure their expenses are probably covered. So they get some exposure and the pleasure of opening for the Stones for free. At least I would imagine. But many of these acts can fill a stadium of their own.

Of course they get paid. And in the case of big name acts, quite a sizeable amount.

Especially when, in the case of AC/DC a few years ago, they were added to the bill at some European shows which had been, to that point, selling very poorly.

Bon Jovi opened for the Stones in Paris in 1995 - at a time when they were outselling the Stones in terms of tickets sold in the Stones' own country. I doubt they did it just for expenses, considering the two shows were seen by around 170,000 people.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-12 00:30 by Gazza.

"Bon Jovi opened for the Stones in Paris in 1995... I doubt they did it just for expenses"

The reason is JBJ was enraged not to be as famous in France as he was in the rest of the world. So he asked his label (Mercury/Polygram) to "break" the band in France no matter what the cost would be. And I suspect JBJ's label made Jagger an offer he couldn't refuse ($$$) to open for him.

And it's been said that overall every CD JBJ sold in France cost the record company roughly 50 bucks in promo, trips to NYC given to rock journalists to interview the band and other insanely expensive ploys.

But hey JBJ demanded to have the French market at his feet at any cost!
And he failed!

I'm moving to France, dcba!

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Gazza
I'm moving to France, dcba!

You're living on a prayer gazza

Thanks for the insight on Bon Jovi in France. I was always curious why they played both shows. That's twice I had to suffer. Plus their name is on the ticket, dammit!

I read somewhere that if the supporting acts themselves would want to see the Stones show afterwards, they'd need to buy regular tickets at the box office.

Can anyone support this?

I doubt that most opening acts get much although I have no real idea. At most concerts I've been to (Stones, that is) the stadium was still 75% empty when the opening act hits the stage. People are coming for the Stones regardless of who's opening - with some exceptions. When I saw the Stones in '05, opener Alanis Morrisette played to an almost 90% empty stadium. It looked more like a soundcheck than a performance. I felt bad for her as she was actually really good and the sparse crowd that had arrived cheered her the best they could. What I felt really bad for her was that the section most clearly in her view - the front sections were totally empty. She must have felt like she was playing to nobody. I hope she could hear the cheers of the few that were there. In '06, the opener was Kanye West, a rapper most Stones fans couldn't care less about. But the stadium was much fuller and from talk I overheard, there were a lot of younger people who came out especially because Kanye was on the bill. At any rate, opening for the Stones can't be easy because almost any act knows they are not the band people paid to see.

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stonesdan60
I doubt that most opening acts get much although I have no real idea. At most concerts I've been to (Stones, that is) the stadium was still 75% empty when the opening act hits the stage. People are coming for the Stones regardless of who's opening - with some exceptions. When I saw the Stones in '05, opener Alanis Morrisette played to an almost 90% empty stadium. It looked more like a soundcheck than a performance. I felt bad for her as she was actually really good

I also saw Alanis in 2005 at Giants stadium, a pity to see the stadium that empty, but tailgate parties are a great moment to spend with fans so I kinda understand the US fans.

The US stadium shows are organized with all seats numbered. In Europe, the fans who stand on the lawn get in early, and rarely miss the opening act if they want to have a good place to enjoy the Stones' show.
That's a HUGE difference

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

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dead.flowers
I read somewhere that if the supporting acts themselves would want to see the Stones show afterwards, they'd need to buy regular tickets at the box office.

Can anyone support this?

I've heard that in most cases, the opening band is kept separated from the Stones backstage, so what you've heard might be possible depending on who the opener is.