Just not that into U2
The Moscow News,
August 30, 2010
By: Ed Bentley
Music promoters are facing up to the realities of bringing international stars to Moscow, after much-hyped supergroup U2 became the latest top act to fail to sell out the city's Luzhniki Stadium.
Reports say the concert was only half full, attracting around 50,000 people despite tickets starting at 1,500 roubles ($49), relatively cheap for a top band in Moscow. While torrential rain put a damper on proceedings, some say the band that reapplied "for the job of best band in the world" are simply not that big.
Western mentality
"[U2 are] such a Western mentality, and melody and lyrics and everything related to the Western world," said Ed Ratnikov, founder of promoters TCI. "U2 were simply not established in Russia." Ratnikov said other performers from Deep Purple to Robbie Williams were more popular, but outdoor concerts are always at the mercy of the gods.
There was no sunshine for Michael Jackson as a stranger in Moscow in 1993, while neither The Rolling Stones in 1998 nor Madonna in 2006 got the hot stuff.
Although the massive Luzhniki Stadium has regularly failed to sell-out for the biggest acts, even smaller venues have struggled to bring in the punters.
Tickets are often more expensive in Russia than for the same band in the rest of Europe, which is a particular hardship given local salaries.
Expensive tickets
"Everyone understands that such a band and stage production cost a fortune, but still -- something has to be done with ticket prices (or maybe the artist's fees for Russia)," Gregory Melnikov, a producer at Creative Force, wrote in an email. "Most Russians have an average salary less than $1,000 per month, and those who attend live concerts -- mostly students, youngsters -- have wages less than $500 per month."
While U2's 360 show had a range of effects, many concert goers feel other shows are simply not worth the money.
"I recently paid 2,500 roubles to watch Underworld muck about on their Macs," said Daniel Wickenden, a Moscow-based DJ. "I'm sure they were expensive to book but apart from some pretty ladies handing out free cigarettes, I didn't really feel like I'd witnessed an event."
Promoters put the extortionate cost down to a series of middlemen and other payments that all get passed on to the consumers.
"In our industry we have many come and go people -- a certain kind of cowboy -- who are trying to get this or that act," said Ratnikov. "They don't rely on the bases like economy, costs and what the best affordable ticket price without discomfort for fans is."
"They overpay artists and this ends up on the ticket price," he added.
For more professional promoters Ratnikov says there are people willing to offer "dodgy money" to give the act to someone else.
Satisfied fans
But while some have moaned about paying over the odds for Western acts, many U2 fans said it was a beautiful day. One fan posting on an expat forum said he was "completely blown away by the concert" and it was "well worth" the 3,000 roubles he paid.
TCI has also encountered problems with agreements with venues and bands. Limp Bizkit's forthcoming tour will see them play in Moscow in October, but it is unlikely to sell out. The rap-rock group was scheduled to release a new album but it is now due out after the show, leaving fans unsure whether they will hear any new material.
Smaller venues
Local DJs say promoters and punters can cut better deals at small venues, where they get a cut of the bar's takings and are full with the artists' friends. "More 'serious' local clubbers go to smaller places, organised at cafes and suchlike, and this is where the 'real' underground is in Moscow," said Wickenden. "They are almost always free to get into and, because they're small, they're full."
With the problems plaguing the industry, Melnikov of Creative Force said the U2 gig was a big success even though other bands are bigger and many see Bono's activism as a pretentious PR act.
© The Moscow News, 2010.
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