Ozzy and the aging industry

(Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. I have no excuse for my oversight. I will blog twice today and hope that you forgive me. )

In a recent issue, the New York Times profiled Ozzy Osbourne as an entry to a discussion about the "aging concert industry".

" But this year the Iron Man and his tour are confronting an uncomfortable reality: rust. Mr. Osbourne, who broke more than half a dozen bones in an accident a few years back, plans to play just 10 of this year's 26 dates. "Ozzy needed to take time out," said Sharon Osbourne, his wife and manager. (Mr. Osbourne was in tour rehearsals last week and unavailable for comment, his spokesman said.) "It just becomes like a routine. The thing is, you never want to get like that. He's got to be as excited as everybody else." But it is increasingly unclear how many more years a man of his age can stay with the tour in any capacity. "It's a worry to me," Ms. Osbourne acknowledged.

She's not the only one. The $3-billion-a-year concert industry is worrying right along with her, about Ozzy and all his contemporaries too.

This summer, a remarkable number of the projected best-selling tours are led by people eligible for AARP membership. Tom Petty is 55. Jimmy Buffett is 59. Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend are both 61. Madonna, whose tour is the hottest so far this year, is a youthful 47. "

While I've blogged a bit about the impending changes in the industry with veteran acts slowly coming off the market, the fatalism (Randy Phillips of AEG warns that we are going to "run out of headliners" soon) is a bit ridiculous. While it is true that The Rolling Stones may only have a few short years left on the touring circuit, it is also true that the number of people who want to pay the exorbitant ticket prices at gigantaur arenas to see them is also dwindling. Audiences are ready for a new and dynamic concert, something that is not so centered around one big ticket headliner (Ozzy will playing the parking lot at Ozz Fest!) and is more about purchasing a remarkable experience. I think these changes (if implemented) will dovetail with the pasing of legacy acts from the market. If promoters actually have to rely upon multiple shows to make up the money so be it. Anyone from Myspace or Guitar Center will tell you that there are more bands popping up all over the place than ever. A vast number of promoters (for example the people of Superfly Productions, creators of Bonnaroo Festival) and performers are reimagining the live experience and we can't even predict what's forthcoming. So much more is possible. I'm excited. Those who lack imagination can fade away.