There was plenty of room for the barkers in sandwich boards to make their way through the crowd at Lilith Fair’s tour stop this week at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J.
Fans applauding Serena Ryder this week at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J., in the Lilith Fair tour, which has canceled 10 of its concerts.
“Last call for $10 Maroon 5 tickets!” one shouted as he crossed the amphitheater’s sparsely populated lawn, his sign advertising deep discounts for a forthcoming show; regular-price tickets cost up to $65. But the fans at Lilith — a revival of Sarah McLachlan’s woman-centric package tour from the 1990s — weren’t buying.
For the concert business it has been a summer of hard sells and empty seats. Despite sellouts for Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and some other hot acts, overall sales have been suffering, with prominent tours like the Eagles and “American Idols Live!” canceling dates.
Live Nation Entertainment, the leading promoter, has been trying to fill seats with fire-sale prices, and in a recent presentation to analysts its executives promised that grosses in 2011 — when stars like U2 and Christina Aguilera are scheduled to make up shows they postponed this year — would improve.
Full story: Summer Concert Ticket Sales Decline – NYTimes.com