Rolling Stone Rips GNR For Boring & Never-Ending Tour

[pilferk]

To compare, the first summer leg of the NITL tour wasn't announced until the day of the first surprise show in April 2016. The summer 2017 dates were announced in December 2016....



/jarmo

Exactly. 

It's not that the band/promoter get NO say in when stuff goes on sale.  But they don't get complete say, either.  The promoter will tell TM they have a tour to sell (which TM likely already know considering LiveNation controls so many venues), TM will get back to them with options for on sale dates, and the band/promoter will get to pick.

Sometimes shows go on sale WAY in advance.  Sometimes not so much.  People look at stuff like this and wonder why its so different.  That's pretty much why. Some of it has to do with when the promoter gets all the venues booked and lets TM know they have a tour.  Some of it is TM load balancing and scheduling their whole slate of events.

In short, there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to choosing an on sale date.  Sometimes an album announcement is secondary to "someone else's" needs.

[Ignatius]

I already wrote this elsewhere, but there's no way Live Nation would've booked another stadium tour in the US if the band wasn't planning on playing new music. There's just no way.

No matter how reliable a Guns tour is these days, Live Nation needs another selling point to book another US stadium tour.

The reunion angle is done and dusted (and buried). Time to bring in something new.

Now, why hasn't new music been announced or promoted to help boost sales? It's too early. Live Nation probably expects 40-50% of the tickets will be sold before April-May. I think Guns can still sell half the capacity of most of those stadiums, we are not talking about Omaha here, this is NY, DC, Boston Chicago...so GUNS still can sell 20,000 tickets with the "name" alone.

By late spring, we will know for sure what the "plan" has been all along. I'm sure new music will have been played by then, maybe there's even a single release or a soundtrack around that time.

There has to be a plan.

[Gavgnr]

I already wrote this elsewhere, but there's no way Live Nation would've booked another stadium tour in the US if the band wasn't planning on playing new music. There's just no way.

No matter how reliable a Guns tour is these days, Live Nation needs another selling point to book another US stadium tour.

The reunion angle is done and dusted (and buried). Time to bring in something new.

Now, why hasn't new music been announced or promoted to help boost sales? It's too early. Live Nation probably expects 40-50% of the tickets will be sold before April-May. I think Guns can still sell half the capacity of most of those stadiums, we are not talking about Omaha here, this is NY, DC, Boston Chicago...so GUNS still can sell 20,000 tickets with the "name" alone.

By late spring, we will know for sure what the "plan" has been all along. I'm sure new music will have been played by then, maybe there's even a single release or a soundtrack around that time.

There has to be a plan.

I admire your optimism but the truth is that GnR will sell tickets whether there’s a new album or not. They’re still riding high on the reunion and it’s only a few hundred fans on the internet who are crazy about a new album

[rizzo160]

I have to disagree, GNR is having a hard time selling tickets in Toronto. If there is no new material, GNR will have a hard time selling out stadiums.

[jarmo]

If there is no new material, GNR will have a hard time selling out stadiums.

Let's say a show has a capacity of 50000. How many of those tickets would be sold to fans based on a new song being available on digital music services and played on rock radio?

Compared to how many of those tickets were sold based on the material that's already available.






/jarmo

[JAEBALL]

If there is no new material, GNR will have a hard time selling out stadiums.

Let's say a show has a capacity of 50000. How many of those tickets would be sold to fans based on a new song being available on digital music services and played on rock radio?

Compared to how many of those tickets were sold based on the material that's already available.






/jarmo

I’d guess about 11 people per city.

😁


Different friends of mine said they wanted to go to the show when it was announced because they knew I’d be going. I bought 8 tickets for the NY show.

The idea or thought of a new GNR song couldn’t be further away from their thought process.

People on these boards which is 1 percent of 1 percent need to get a grip. No offense please.

I’m sure some of these shows won’t sell as well as 2016 but if it is that way it won’t be because there’s a new album or not ...But who cares .. just go and enjoy the show or don’t.

[jarmo]

When you have three members playing shows together for the first time in over 20 years, it's special.

Next time they come to town, it's not the "first time in over 20 years" anymore. So if that was the only reason people bought tickets, maybe they won't do so again.

But there's still a lot of people who will go see the band because it's those three guys playing the songs the fans wanna hear.

I think the reason why tickets sold out so fast the first time was because it was that special. Now it's like it's happening again so no rush? Maybe it's less of an "event" you have to share on social media in 2020, so you got less casual rock fans going..... On top of that, many of the more casual fans might be waiting closer to the show to see what else they might spend their money on.





/jarmo

[bailyrose]

I'm a fan and will see them regardless. However seriously what's the big deal release some new music already it's not rocket science. I just don't understand it....my opinion is no new music this year especially after what slash said a namm a few weeks ago.

[Spirit]

I'm a fan and will see them regardless. However seriously what's the big deal release some new music already it's not rocket science. I just don't understand it....my opinion is no new music this year especially after what slash said a namm a few weeks ago.

Don't know what he said, but I wouldn't read too much into it.

Slash got asked about a reunion several times within six months of the announcement, and none of the answers indicated anything imminent. I think they - meaning Axl, Slash and Duff, know how too keep their cards close and not to reveal any essential information until they agree upon making it public.

[sofine11]

I’m hearing all over that ticket sales for this summer are struggling thus far. If the idea is for a release of some kind to bump up ticket sales, I would imagine it would need to happen sooner than later as I don’t see people buying tickets at the 11th hour just because they’re digging whatever single in say May or June for a July show. In other words I think it would need to sink into the public consciousness first to really make a difference.

[rizzo160]

I guess it is frustrating the lack of new music and no clear plans for release of new music.  We are lucky that GNR is touring but it is never easy seeing other bands put albums out and then tour.  In a perfect world this would happen but then again GNR is not like any other band I know.

[damnthehaters]

If there is no new material, GNR will have a hard time selling out stadiums.

Let's say a show has a capacity of 50000. How many of those tickets would be sold to fans based on a new song being available on digital music services and played on rock radio?

Compared to how many of those tickets were sold based on the material that's already available.






/jarmo

Who knows how many more tickets would be sold, but it WOULD be more.  And the more you do, the more tickets sold.  Promotion, single(s), good single, on different formats (on airlines, in a commercial, digital music, radio, etc) will all help the cause. 

If the band is curious at all as to how many more tickets would sell with a new song, announcement of new album, etc.  then they should try it.  Let a couple more weeks go by with concert tickets up for sale, and then bust it all out.  When more tickets start to sell, you’ll have a good idea how it helps.  This may very well be their plan.  Maybe all along, they planned on having concert tickets go on sale (see how they sell) and then announce new music at later date...so they can gage today’s music world, and their place in it.

If this is their plan, I would imagine announcement sometime in March/April with single out around same time.  Although, earlier the better as it gives more time for new single to be heard, and possibly even second single to be released. 

[PermissionToLand]

If there is no new material, GNR will have a hard time selling out stadiums.

Let's say a show has a capacity of 50000. How many of those tickets would be sold to fans based on a new song being available on digital music services and played on rock radio?

Compared to how many of those tickets were sold based on the material that's already available.

More than I think you think. The most fair weather fans got their fill on NITL and will go off seeing other bands for a few years before they might think to see Guns again. So at this point, you have the die hards and the more general rock and metal fans, (of course with some amount of fairweather listeners who didn't see NITL). To appeal to the general rock audiences, a new single means A LOT. For me, I might fit into that camp with say Alice in Chains. I dig them like many rock bands but I'm not a hardcore fan. What would spur me to go see them is hearing a cool new single like that one Check My Brain from a while back. Especially if I've already seen them before (which is a fair assumption for a rock fan who bounces around to different rock acts often).

And personally, I skipped NITL because of the ticket prices and the fact that Axl was pretty worn out by the time they came around to Hartford. But also because I knew what the setlist would be; largely the same as the year and a half leading up to that. However, I am now considering the 2020 tour because of the possibility of new material. So my own attendance very much hinges of new material.

[jarmo]

Promotion, single(s), good single, on different formats (on airlines, in a commercial, digital music, radio, etc) will all help the cause. 

Of course.

Like I mentioned, the NITL tour sold tickets on the fact that it was the first.... So they didn't need a lot of promotion. Let's see what kind of promotion they do in 2020.




/jarmo

[sofine11]

I wonder if the struggling US ticket sales will expedite some kind of announcement or perhaps a single?  I have to think there is some kind of plan in place in that regard, but can't understand it coming at the 11th hour where it's existence wouldn't really do much in the way of boosting struggling ticket sales.

[jarmo]

The tour starts in July.

You release a single now and people will have forgotten about it once the tour starts....


There's still time.




/jarmo

[sofine11]

The tour starts in July.

You release a single now and people will have forgotten about it once the tour starts....


There's still time.




/jarmo

You may very well be right.  I think now it comes down to how long before the tour kicks off do they want to launch the album.  A month? Two months?  Hard to say what makes the most sense in terms of impacting ticket sales.  Will be interesting to see how things play out.

[jarmo]

It depends. For example how you want to release it. Just an album, or a single first? Multiple singles?

I think just a single will create a lot of buzz. Even for a tour.






/jarmo

[sofine11]

It depends. For example how you want to release it. Just an album, or a single first? Multiple singles?

I think just a single will create a lot of buzz. Even for a tour.






/jarmo

I agree.  In my opinion, a new studio recording with Axl, Slash & Duff is even more of a miracle than the NITL tour, just because it's more personal in a way than live shows where everyone just shows up.  Even passive rock fans will be all ears.

[jarmo]

Not sure which one is more of a miracle. It all comes down to people getting along.




/jarmo