Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: MCT Campus With acts like Dave Matthews touring successfully and consistently for almost a decade, other bands struggle to compete in the age of stolen music and the decline of CD sales. One of the ways they have attempted to do this is by opening up the decision-making to the fans via Eventful.com. Music enthusiasts are able to "demand" their favorite artists in certain cities, putting the formation of the tours in their hands. This role-reversal will hopefully increase the amount of tours for artists as well as cheapen the heightening ticket and album prices.

We are living in a precarious time in entertainment. In the midst of discounted music pay sites such as Napster, pirating music engines such as Limewire, and the simplicity of sharing music via the iPod Empire a revolution is going on in music. A reshuffling of how the industry must perceive financial success has caused many artists to lash out against their fans due to the decline of CD sales. The classic Metallica debacle is a case in point. While this burden has not sent the music moguls into bedlam yet, it is obvious that, to be able to generate the millions they have grown accustomed to, alternative means need to be met.

Musicians consistently doing what they are meant to do can augment these means; that is tour on a regular basis. Somewhere along the path to stardom many bands forgot what it meant to be a musical act. Give the fans what they want, not what they think they want. To their disappointment this is beginning to mean doing more than turning out a lackluster album that costs 20 bucks every few years and appearing on the cover of a tabloid magazine for dating some anorexic actress that would not look at them twice in the real world.

So what we are beginning to see is a change. Some artists such as Dave Matthews Band (despite what you think of their music) have been consistently touring for the better part of each year for over a decade. Granted the ticket prices are high, but they still continue to produce albums and maintain a loyal fan base. What they are even doing now is sponsoring a contest in which text messaging a given number will put your school in the running for DMB to come to your school. That is great, but what about everybody else you want to see live?

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