Features
Cruising For Concerts
Tim McGraw will headline the Live Nation-booked “Country Cruise Getaway” to the Bahamas January 28-31 on Carnival Cruise Lines, with ticket prices reportedly ranging from $900 to $2,000.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Barenaked Ladies, and Bill Engvall are a few of many acts scheduled to hit the high seas in the new year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Live Nation promoted cruises featuring Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney earlier this year, which included private concerts by the stars at “secluded” ports of call along with the usual onboard amenities.
Hardcore fans don’t seem to mind forking out thousands of dollars for the chance to see their favorite artist up close and personal, whereas they may balk at paying $100 or more for a concert ticket only.
Despite North American box office revenue showing an upswing in the third quarter – mostly due to higher ticket prices – ticket sales are down overall.
Pollstar‘s third quarter charts show box revenue of $2.355 million, which is $31 million higher than the same period in 2005. However, there were 51.1 million tickets sold through the third quarter, which is down 4.2 million tickets from the same period last year.