one of the main (only) reasons the stones still tour is for the vast millions of ££ and $$$ that they make, but with the credit crunch starting to bite hard, how many people will be afford to pay the kind of prices that the stones have been asking??

i looked at the major acts playing stadiums or large events in and around london this year and so far

the police, eric clapton, bon jovi, madonna, iron maiden, neil young and REM have all failed to have the sold out sign on the door.

and not forgetting glastonbury, which failed to sell out for the 1st time in 15 years. plus other events like the o2 wireless festival and the v festival which still have tickets floating around.

and all the above acts apart from madonna ask a lot less for a ticket than the stones.

you may say that the above acts are not in the stones league, but if it's a choice between feeding your kids of hearing start me up again. i know what the casual fan will choose.

so if the stones do go back on the road it will have to be either cheaper tickets = less money for the boys or smaller venues = less money for the boys.

if they do love the music more than the money then there will be no problem but i think with the cash cow now well and truly milked, the stones will never tour again.

See you on tour next year dude.

JumpingKentFlash

Hate to disagree with Kent cause he's a good guy but gotta agree with you Jay. The VERY new ROLLING STONE MAG has a big article on this very subject, a lot of big name acts touring America at this moment are not doing well. If this continues into summer 2009 I don't see a Stones tour, Jagger is MUCH TOO SHARP on economic issues to not understand that when money gets tight expensive entertainment is one of the first things to go... I might put up a new thread quoting the RS article later on, time to pull out the DVD concerts......

agree with Jay and HelterSkelter. plus theres the big ego to surpass past tour gross records that does not allow them to play for a cheaper price than last time. the only way to make a new Stones tour happen is to start with a different concept alltogether which makes it impossible to compare its economic success with past tour tours.

if one takes into account that even on ABB an increasing number of shows were no sell-outs, a new world tour on the same level becomes more and more unlikely the more the economic pressure grows.

but if they decide to do just a number of indoor shows in some selected locations, I fear that ticket prices will go through he roof and finally turn a Stones show into a happening for the rich and wealthy exclusively.

They will play small theatres and charge $1500 a ticket. The press release will say it's a special tour, just for the REAL fans. Very few real fans will get to see them, but there will still be enough wealthy "fans" to fill the seats.

and they still will play 90 percent warhorses,lol

I agree with helters comments, i myself really dont see the stones ever doing a 2 year tour like the biggerbang tour, i think them days have gone.I would like them to do special shows in each country.Mabe say two nights in new york dodgers stadium, and 2 in london at the new wembley. Pick a few more capital citys around the world, and notch up about 20- 30 shows.Well thats what i would like to see.I would imagine jagger knows the stones have pushed it as far as they can go with huge 2 year tours, with expensive ticket prices.So the nest step the stones take will be interesting, anyhow i hope we get another studio album out of them,carry on boys.

Agree with a lot of the above sentiments. I thought at the time and still do that ABB would be the last time the Stones tour worldwide on that scale - not only in terms of size of venues, but the length of the tour , number of shows and the wide variety of locations.

I think they'll continue to tour (hopefully) but it will be on a smaller scale, but egoes being what they are, they'll try and arrange it in a way so that their guarantees wont be too badly affected. So, basically 'major' markets like London, New York, Las Vegas, etc where they can play arenas but get away with charging the top dollar for as high a % of the audience as possible (you can see the trend on the last tour - while the price levels may be the same in somewhere like New York and Montana, for example, the % of tickets at the top of the range will be much greater in somewhere like NYC where the demand for tickets is more likely to outstrip the supply than in what is a less populated market).

I would be very surprised if future tours see shows in many (or even any) minor markets. ABB was, if anything, a hello and goodbye to many places that they'll never return to.

Possibly but in the grand scheme of things if you're a normal, working 40 hour week Stones fan with the responsibility of bills to pay, mouths to feed and a roof to keep over your heads I'd guess a concert ticket would (or should) be pretty far down your pecking order. That's the way it is with me anyhow.

This is a very interesting and very telling topic. The Rolling Stones will not stop touring (I don't think so anyway) however, like many business entities, will have to adjust to the demands of the market. Many artists have resorted to playing smaller venues AND charging less to ensure the brand stays fresh in the minds of fans. I agree, the Rolling Stones will be able to play a smaller venue, charge premium prices and cater to the hard core affluent fans.

The entertainment segment has a bubble, just like every other market in the world economy. Ticket prices soared while the costs of fuel and food rose at a much higher rate. The industry is experiencing a sharp downturn as these factors continue the affect the disposable income of entertainment consumers.

The really big acts have VERY high overhead. Production and transportation dig hard into the bottom line. I foresee a reduction of Las Vegas / Stadium extravaganzas and a return to the core product... live MUSIC in concert! A number of bands fits that formula well, The Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Band,The Neville Brothers and The P-Funk All Stars (Funkadelic) all tour with the low overhead, great music formula and consistently sell out. Sure, they do not draw the same size crowds as the Stones do BUT they all have busy schedules.

With the rush many musicians get preforming live, I cannot see the Rolling Stones stopping now (Keith says that's the thing he likes the most TOURING). They adapted to the disco era (Some Girls, Black and Blue), sold millions of records and played to sold out crowds. A mere downturn in the industry won't have them to gathering any moss.

CBII

The concert industry has no long term plan. If you know anyone who attended the Pollstar convention, they will tell you that there is no plan,just stratagies how to grab as much as you can...NOW. They feel if a concert goes leaves a show with money still in their pocket, they did not do their job.

I do not see The Rolling Stones lowering their guarantee. It would be like a Sale sign at the BMW dealership. It devalues the brand name.

In the meantime, here's my suggestion for an opening act:

My guess is still stadiums, but fewer shows. There is more money in that strategy. And, most important - more people get to see them.

Alimente, i don't think they want necessarily to surpass past tour gross record. Who does consider B2B, NS and Licks as "spoilt" tours, thinking that they didn't broke VL's gross record? Noone, of course. Maybe the Stones have big ego but they aren't lunatics! Due to their ego they probably are ambitious to surpass in terms of gross and attendance any other act touring AT THE SAME TIME, as usual. Not their own figures from the past. If market's general situation in 2009 makes one million people be like a triumphal attendance figure for every one and the Stones play at 1.2, they'll be satisfied...

A band that can attract 4.7 million people by high, annoying ticket prices has serious reasons to tour again, even the round will be much shorter. To me the "key" isn't necessarily smaller venues, everywhere. The "key" could be FEWER gigs, especially in main markets like NY, LA or London. Don't forget that, at their age, the "fewer gigs and longer breaks between them" model does help them save powers. IMO the question about the Stones touring or not touring again has bacically to do with factors like their health, Keith's athritis, etc. Not to the signs of market's crisis.

BTW, i think acts, Stones included, don't give a shit for the exact numbers of sell out shows nowadays, IF their whole attendance is good. In 2002-03 the Stones (Licks Tour) had 69 / 115 sellouts (60%) ; i think that ABB presents a slighty better analogy. Springsteen in 2002-03 had 47 /82 sellouts (57%). But as the Stones attendance / gross numbers were 3.5 million / 299.5 and Bruce's 2.8 / 181.7 then, who the hell remembers today that B Joel- Elton John had 24/24 sellouts playing at small venues and attracting 422,367 people? Noone i suppose. Industry bacically counts gross and attendance (unfortunately, gross comes first), not whether empty seats tally to 20%, 15% or 0% of the whole capacity. And the bands know it.

Tickets will still be expensive. That's why they are put on sale several months earlier.

Stones will tour again...barring health issues...and the tix WILL be expensive!

do ya think question mark

I have come to the same conclusion myself. The Stones have saturated their own market since 2002. People won't pay to see what will essentially be the same show.

It has been said many times since the last gig at the O2 that the Stones will not embark on any more large scale world tours but it does not mean they will not tour again, we'll just have to wait and see without keeping on speculating.

Quote
No Expectations
Stones will tour again...barring health issues...and the tix WILL be expensive!

Have you seen the Madonna ticket prices... even more expensive than the stones. I'm afraid next tout tickets will be even much more expensive.

Will we see a $15 dollar gas surcharge to support the 50+ tractor trailers?

PECMAN

Quote
Pecman
Will we see a $15 dollar gas surcharge to support the 50+ tractor trailers?

PECMAN

tough one, Pecman!!!! your idea is so good that they might be tempted to adopt it...! at least we have someone to blame for it in case they really do it.

It should be called the "What Recession?? Tour".

Quote
Harm

Quote
No Expectations
Stones will tour again...barring health issues...and the tix WILL be expensive!

Have you seen the Madonna ticket prices... even more expensive than the stones. I'm afraid next tout tickets will be even much more expensive.

Yes, but are the venues/gigs selling out? I don't know. I'm genuinely asking you as opposed to trying to 'prove a point'.

I think that as consumer confidence begins to take a hit, the touts can see it too and won't buy up the same number of tickets for gigs as they used to. The last few gigs i've been to in Dublin and it's always been touts outside, BEGGING people to take tickets from them for less than face value. This has only been the last few months...

The people who see Madonna are not average ticket buyers. They maybe go to 3 shows a years. Her ticket prices, while high does not bother her core audience. I've known people who do not make a lot of money and when they hear she's doing shows, they save up and travel to them. They are not rock & roll audiences.

From looking at a lot of internet tout sites, they are not getting what they are asking. Check out some of the sites with shows that are a couple days away from your city. I know a tout, he is selling many shows below face price and many half the price he paid. I do not support touts, I just happen to know one.

agree.. there is no incentive for them to tour unless they can make the big buck.. they can always hold off another year hoping the world and particularly the US (because thats where the money is for the stones) recovers..

i believe when the US gets a decent president things will turn around and the US will lead the global recovery much as it always does.

so a stones tour in 2009 is not out of the question but doubtful to my mind..they also know absence makes the heart grow fonder..they more they hold out the bigger the tour will be when they do do it..

also lets face it: keith needs to get some help cause the way he ended the last tour i dont see him being able to handle much..

Quote
pgarof
It has been said many times since the last gig at the O2 that the Stones will not embark on any more large scale world tours but it does not mean they will not tour again, we'll just have to wait and see without keeping on speculating.

Keeping on speculating is what we are all about here on IORR.

yeah man if we don't speculate what are we supposed to do?? there' snothing actually going on in stones world! all we got is our speculation man!

I don't think they worry too much. They did ABB all over the place because they felt like it. They kept going for shit's sake!

I wouldn't be surprised to see something more along the lines of what they did for Some Girls - a short stadium tour - only put together much better. Do they really need to go on the road for 2 years - I know they don't spend all two years touring/playing but...I could see a possibly 3 month tour, with roughly 3 shows a week, maybe one week off here and there to spread it out a bit.

I dunno. Nobody knows. We're still wondering if they'll ever do another record. Either they do or don't. I would love another record. But if it's not going to happen, damn, as if there isn't anything to listen to as it is!

BOX SET! Tour it, hang 'em up.

Ha ha ha, talking about comps - maybe they'll 'update' Rewind, make it a double, include Highwire, Sex Drive and Don't Stop and also maybe 1 new song, put on some of the tunes they should have put on it and that will be the tour! ANOTHER HITS TOUR!

Rolling Stones REWIND 2010 Tour