Touring: The Economy Update.

After discussing this post about the economy's impact on the touring industry with my boss, Megan, she introduced me to the C3 Presents ticket master, Michelle Alldredge. She's in charge of all the ticket sales C3 has their hands on - be that Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, or shows at the venues C3 books. I sat down with Michelle to chat about whether ACL has been a part of the economic downturn or if it's is doing just fine, like Lolla did. (Lolla sold a record 180,000 tickets this summer.)

Michelle informed me that since 2004 ACL has sold out or has been extremely close to selling out. Good news there. Just the other day, Oct. 2, C3 put a block of cheap tickets up for ACL 2009. So, since we're in the thick of this economic downturn, one would figure that folks would be holding on extra tight to their wallets - aka, no ticket purchases yet. However, that block of tickets (the number would not be released) has already sold out. Clearly, festival lovers aren't going to let these hard times affect their attendance to next year's show.

Or, are they thinking strategically? Are these ticket buyers smarter than the average bear, understanding that the next block of tickets will be more expensive, so they better buy the cheapest they can find? Another thought: Are the folks buying these tickets the generation who isn't as affected by the economy as much? A good point was introduced to me - my generation isn't really feeling the pain of the current recession. Instead, we're somewhat reaping the benefits with lower gas prices ($2.49 by my apartment today.) My generation is predominately who is attending these festivals, and since we don't have retirement funds, 401ks, huge stock investments, etc., then we can focus on what entertains us now rather than worry about the money we haven't really lost. Interesting.