Arthur Fogel Interview

Fogel, who has toured everyone from Rush to Lady Gaga to the reunited Police and is the subject of the documentary “Who The F**k Is Arthur Fogel,” gave us a quick rundown of Live Nation’s summer touring schedule, U2’s decision to return to arenas, ticketing models and what happened to the three, massive Spaceship stages of the 360 Tour. 

The media always covers U2 tours. Anything stand out this time around?

I think, generally, what’s been written since the tour opened in mid-May in Vancouver is a whole bunch of really incredible reviews in every market the band has played so far. I think they’re all great and all spot-on about how great the show is. I think that’s really kind of the messaging for the last couple of months.

We got to see one of the shows at The Forum.

It really is a great show, and I think the band worked hard to get ready, musically, and the creative team has done an amazing job of putting together a show with groundbreaking elements but also finding that balance between the simple musical presentation and the use of the technology.

Although you’re known for tours with large productions, was there a conscious effort after the 360 Tour to shift this back to a more intimate space?

Absolutely yes. The 360 Tour was just a moment in time, a stadium run of 110 shows that was just amazing in terms of selling 7.3 million tickets but the truth is it’s been 10 years since they last played arenas. So, coming off 360 and having not been in arenas for a decade, the timing was right to change it up. I think it’s paid off in a great way.

Staying with the 360 Tour for a second, where are those stages? Do you know?

(Laughs) Yeah, I do know, actually. I can’t remember if there are two in Europe and one in America or vice versa, but between Belgium and Pennsylvania are where the three stages reside at the moment, at storage facilities.

There was some talk about them being sold.

Well, there were some interested parties, especially shortly after the end of the 360 tour but nothing ever materialized. But, hey, if you know anybody who’s interested tell them to give me a call.

We recently had a conversation with Dr. Stephen Happel, professor of economics, who is a proponent of StubHub and the secondary market, and he suggested the implementation of Dutch auctions for arena shows – i.e., starting the whole room off at, say, $1,000 a seat and then lowering the pricing week by week until all the tickets are sold. Any thoughts?

Listen, it’s a complicated scenario. You try to find the balance. You know what’s going on out there – or, we, as an industry – and tickets absolutely can end up on the secondary market. People buy tickets and they resell them. Or brokers get their hands on them, and the bots are always in play, especially for hot shows when they go onsale. In some respect it’s like the Wild West. I think you can look at conducting an auction on a certain section of seats but the problem is, as an industry, there is the sensitivity from the artist and the promoters, etc., that you have to try and maintain some pricing reality for people who can’t, or do not want, to pay that kind of top dollar for a ticket.

It’s like airplane tickets: there are all kinds of price levels and realities when you buy one and I don’t think concerts or sporting events are any different. It’s a bit of a tough challenge but, for instance, on this U2 tour the GA tickets on the floor are $65. We have done whatever we can do to make sure those $65 tickets are not re-sellable because reselling them goes completely against trying to keep the pricing reasonable for the people who are closest on the floor who can’t afford a $200-$400 ticket. It’s a complicated equation.

Those are great tickets, by the way.

They are. It’s also great for the seats on either side as you go up on the lower bowl, and even the upper bowls are pretty great. So, there is something for everybody on a pricing menu. I think if you try to run an auction for the entire inventory you run the risk of pricing a lot of people out of the opportunity.

It’s another busy season, and Madonna is on her way – but in simple terms what’s the rest of the year look like for Live Nation and touring?

Certainly, for me, it’s a busy time. Obviously, U2 is on the road and Madonna will start in September. Lady Gaga & The Forum are doing shows right now, and Rush. For Live Nation, it’s peak season at the amphitheatres, festivals here and in Europe. There are a lot of shows. Generally, there is a lot of excitement for shows; it’s a really healthy and exciting time in our business.

Any thoughts regarding the passing of U2’s longtime tour manager, Dennis Sheehan?

He was with the band for so long, and he was a great human being. It was pretty traumatic for everybody but when something like that happens and you’re midstream, you got to keep going. I think everybody’s pulled together and we’re moving forward but it was very difficult. He was a wonderful man.

Any one up-and-comer act that we should be paying attention to?

I don’t think there’s any “one.” To me, what’s exciting is that over the past three or four years there’s been a great explosion of talent. I think the business is in a very healthy place. There was a time about four, five years ago where everyone was going, “Oh God! Doomsday!” but between then and now there has been an emergence of great talent and the business is in a healthy place.

Ten years ago, everyone said that when the Rolling Stones quit touring, that was it. There wouldn’t be any more acts like that, but I don’t hear that anymore.

I think that’s true. We live in an industry of cycles and it takes a while to regenerate artists, and regenerate audiences. I think we lose sight of that and get impatient. But it absolutely happens and we’re in the midst of it happening big time. I think it’s great for all of us.

Final thoughts?

I just think we’re in the middle of a fantastic run of U2 that ends in the middle of July with eight shows in New York. Tonight is show four of a five-show run in Chicago and then we start up in Europe in September. The shows are so great; it’s really exciting. There’s a reason why they’re seen as one of the great live bands in the history of our business, and they’re absolutely proving it.