Category: News Desk

New York Attorney General Issues Scathing Report on Concert Ticketing Industry

Many of us have been there. Ticketmaster queued up, ready to click “buy tickets” as soon as sales begin. You’re sure you’re going to get quality seats for the show; after all, you clicked on that “buy” button the second the clock struck 10. Alas, you discover you’re in the nosebleeds once the purchase is complete.

How does this happen so regularly to concert goers? New York State Attorney General Eric Shneiderman had the same question, and his office conducted a three-year investigation into the ticketing industry and Thursday issued a report on the findings.

The report details results of his office’s investigation into online ticketing and the practices of third-party ticket resale sites such as StubHub and TicketsNow.

The 44-page report cited numerous complaints the AG’s office has fielded concerning “price gouging,” “scalping,” “outrageous fees” and “immediate sell outs.” One consumer quoted in the report stated, “The average fan has no chance to buy tickets at face value…this is a disgrace.”

The AG confirmed this concerned consumer’s remarks, finding:

The majority of tickets for the most popular concerts are not reserved
for the general public at least in the first instance. Rather, before a member of the public can buy
a single ticket for a major entertainment event, over half of the available tickets are either put on
“hold” and reserved for a variety of industry insiders including the venues, artists or promoters,
or are reserved for “pre-sale” events and made available to non-public groups, such as those
who carry particular credit cards.

The figure below illustrates New York-area shows between 2012-2013 for which tickets were held from general sale for pre-sale insiders. An “insider” can be classified as a holder of a sponsoring credit card, a member of a fan club, members of social media sites or shopping sites. The consumer who is not a member of any of the above mentioned groups is immediately at a disadvantage once tickets are officially on sale to the general public.

In addition to tickets being held in advance of an on-sale date, brokers use bot software to purchase hundreds of tickets at a time using a four-step process. In December of 2014, ticket sales for a June U2 show at Madison Square Garden saw one broker, using ticket bot software, purchase 1,102 tickets within the first minute of sale. The report defines a ticket bot as:

Software that automates ticket-buying on platforms such as ticketmaster.com. Automation lets the Bot (1) perform each transaction at lightning speed, and (2) perform hundreds or thousands of transactions simultaneously. As a result, in the first moments after tickets to a top show go on sale, Bots crowd out human purchasers and can snap up most of the good seats.

Bot programs allow brokers access to hundreds of tickets which are then immediately placed for sale on third-party sites. Frustrated consumers still wishing to attend a concert or sporting event are then left with only the ticket resellers as an option to buy, and at a markup anywhere from 15 percent to 118 percent of face value.

As illustrated in the figure above, brokers using bot programs are able circumvent any prevention methods instituted by ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

Several startups, such as Cash or Trade, are becoming more popular among savvy ticket buyers. Cash or Trade touts itself as the “World’s first social ticketing platform.” There, members have the ability to sell tickets at face value or in trade among themselves [Cash or Trade is a partner of NYS Music].

While bots and pre-sale events comprised the majority of the AG’s report, one complaint that has been fielded repeatedly for years is that of “convenience” or “handling” fees on the part of the ticket agency. One complaint stated, “I purchased a 30 dollar ticket to see A View From A Bridge. During the transaction I saw that a ten dollar fee would be added for handling. Handling what? I am using my own printer to print my own ticket!”

Ticketmaster often takes blame for many of the added charges, but the report states that some of the blame can also be given to the venues as well.

In its final recommendation, the report calls for the state legislature to conduct hearings challenging the key players to level the field for everyday fans to be able to get their hands on tickets to even the most high-profile events. The call for ticket resale platforms to comply with the law, greater transparency in regards to allocations and limits, and addressing what the AG termed the “Bot Epidemic” are steps the state legislature needs to take. “A longer-term solution must include improvements in Bot detection and prevention methods. While the industry works on long-term technological solutions, steps can be taken to reduce Bot use in the near term,” the report states.

In the meantime, keep your mouse finger at the ready for the next big show you hope to attend.

January 30, 2016
From Flat to Fact: Neil deGrasse Tyson Schools B.o.B with Rebuttal Rap

The Twittersphere was abuzz this week when Georgia rapper B.o.B — Bobby Ray Simmons — posted a series of tweets dissing the Earth’s roundness theory. But have no fear, the media’s favorite celebrity scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson rushed to the rescue.

B.o.B’s self-proclaimed photographic evidence (posted below) in support of the Flat-Earth Conspiracy went viral, causing the New York City-based astrophysicist to fire back with point-blank scientific facts. B.o.B shot off more opinionated tweets, saying things like “the horizon is always eye level” and “once you go flat you never go back.” Tyson’s response? “Duude — to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music.” The spat escalated quickly to a full-on rap battle.

https://twitter.com/bobatl/status/691411463051804676

On Monday night, B.o.B released “Flatline” on SoundCloud (now removed), and by Tuesday, Tyson had posted his rebuttal — a track titled “Flat to Fact” that was written and recorded by his nephew, Steve Tyson, and labeled B.o.B’s line of thinking as ignorant and mentally enslaving.

The Twitter fight was trending on news outlets across the country and highlighted on shows like “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” in which Tyson himself made an appearance and did a little freestyling before he literally dropped the mic. Here’s a sample:

Listen B.o.B, once and for all. The Earth looks flat because, one, you’re not far enough away, at your size. Two, your size isn’t large enough relative to Earth to notice any curvature at all. It’s a fundamental fact of calculus and non-Euclidean geometry—small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it.”

Tyson continued by acknowledging the rapper’s freedom to think the world is flat, but deemed this “strain” of thinking for a public influencer as “the beginning of the end of our informed democracy.” And he left B.o.B with one last knowledge bomb:

Quoting my man Isaac Newton, ‘If I have seen farther than others, it’s by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ So that’s right B.o.B, when you stand on the shoulders of those who came before, you might just see far enough to realize the Earth isn’t fucking flat.”

While we love a good rap feud, it’s safe to say that Tyson will thankfully be sticking to his day job as the head of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium. Case closed.

January 29, 2016
Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner Dies at 74

Iconic San Francisco musician Paul Kantner died Thursday, Jan. 28, of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

A founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, Kantner, 74, suffered a heart attack earlier this week, reported the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that he had experienced many health problems in recent years.

With Jefferson Airplane, Kantner defined the mid-1960s psychedelic sound and created hits like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” featuring Grace Slick’s narcotic vocals. Most notably, the band was the first headliner at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore Auditorium and performed at Woodstock. Kantner and Slick transformed the group into Jefferson Starship in 1974; Kantner departed 11 years later, although the couple had a daughter together.

In 1996, Kantner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he continued touring up until his death. Most recently, Steve Malinski witnessed Kantner perform with several bandmates for a 50th anniversary celebration at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut this past August:

The Starship’s presence on stage was bold and cohesive – original members of the Airplane Paul Kantner and David Freiberg kept the sound true and original to the Airplane along with longtime Starship drummer Donny Baldwin, keyboardist Chris Smith and guitarist Jude Gold. The animated and exhuberant Cathy Richardson fulfilled the big-shoes role created by Grace Slick’s powerful vocals, to whom she gave a tip of the hat to near the end of the set. Together they made the performance feel engaging to the audience with down to earth, unscripted banter and humor between songs, which has been a consistency for the group through the past several years.”

Paul Kantner at the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert, Bethel Woods Aug. 15, 2009

Paul Lorin Kantner is survived by three children: sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter, China. At press time, funeral arrangements had not been released.

January 29, 2016
Motley Crue’s Vince Neil to Compete in ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’

This week, TMZ broke the news that Motley Crue’s Vince Neil is starring in the next season of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” With Motley recently hanging the gloves, Neil, who is no stranger to reality TV, is returning to the screen.

On “The Celebrity Apprentice,” the stars that compete on the show partake in business tasks and assignments to raise money for their charity of their choice. No word on what charity Neil will raise money for. This season, Arnold Schwarzenegger has replaced Trump. Filming is expected to start in New York City in March with the show debuting this September on NBC.

In other post-Motley Crue news, guitarist Mick Mars is recording a solo album with former Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi, and Nikki Sixx is expected to tour with Sixx A.M. in 2016.

January 29, 2016
Barroom Philosophers Release Debut EP, Announce Shows

The Barroom Philosophers formed in the summer of 2014, and since then the self-described “funky reggae with a side of rock” band has played countless gigs throughout Central New York. Most recently, the Syracuse-based group released their debut EP titled, Thoughts That Count, and are still in the running for a SAMMYs People’s Choice Award for favorite local band.

Mastered by Langston Masingale (StudioDOG Pro), the three-track EP features the producer’s signature analog style (using his self-invented Zulu device) and has found airplay on Syracuse-area radio stations, including Dave Frisina’s “Soundcheck” on Rebel 105.9. The release, including songs “Role Models,” “Zillion Pound Babies” and “Animal is Caged,” dishes up 15 minutes of original funk jams. Frontman David Koegel’s soulful chops set the groove on TTC, backed by surfy blues-rock riffs, cool horns, mellow bass lines and steady beats. Think Sublime meets the Black Crowes.

The four-piece former cover band, consisting of Brenden Boshart (drums), Ty Hancock (bass), Koegel (vocals) and Joshua Way (guitar), have nearly 20 shows scheduled at hometown spots like Funk ‘N Waffles and the Westcott Theater, plus they are booked to perform at RocCity Brewfest in Rochester and Wild Weed Acres Music Festival in Ovid this summer.

A complete list of dates for the Barroom Philosophers is available below. Thoughts That Count can be streamed digitally through the band’s website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6Y_5IvtQE

Barroom Philosophers 2016 Dates (New York):

1/29 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
1/30 – Mac’s Bad Art Bar – Mattydale
2/6 – Mohegan Manor – Baldwinsville
2/12 – Funk N Waffles (University) – Syracuse
2/20 – RocCity Brewfest – Rochester
2/26 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
2/28 – Westcott Theater – Syracuse
3/5 – Mohegan Manor – Baldwinsville
3/11 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
3/18 – Old City Hall – Oswego
3/26 – Kitty Hoynes – Syracuse
4/1 – Limp Lizard – Liverpool
4/8 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
4/16 – Old City Hall – Oswego
4/23 – Bridge Street Tavern – Solvay
5/13 – Kitty Hoynes – Syracuse
5/20 – Old City Hall – Oswego
5/28 – The Ferris Wheel – Oswego
6/30 – Wild Weed Acres Music Festival – Ovid

January 28, 2016
Break Science to Break it Down Back to Back in Brooklyn

Brooklyn-based electronica duo Break Science will put on back-to-back hometown shows this week at Brooklyn Bowl.

Break Science is the project of Adam Deitch (drums) and Borahm Lee (keys). The duo fuses its hip-hop roots with dub and funk influences and a smattering of electronic styles to create a fusion music that rumbles and moves bodies. Both collaborators have extensive experience playing in other bands (Lettuce, Pretty Lights Live Band, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Matisyahu), and Deitch has produced the likes of 50 Cent, Redman and Talib Kweli.

In the past few months, Break Science have released the acclaimed single “Force of Nature” ft. Paperwhite and have toured the US. They’re set to appear at the Gem & Jam Festival in Tuscon, AZ, in February. In the midst of this activity, these Brooklyn Bowl gigs will showcase Dietch and Lee playing in two different live band configurations.

Thursday, January 28, will feature Break Science performing in conjunction with Manic Focus, the musical project of likeminded Chicago-based artist John “JmaC” McCarten. The High & Mighty Brass Band Horns and CX will round out the band. Artifakts and Brasstracks will open.

Friday, January 29, will feature the Break Science Live Band comprised of The Shady Horns, Adam “Shmmeans” Smirnoff and Jesus Coomes of Lettuce, Rahzel, CX and Bajah. Marvel Years and Dreamers Delight will open. Doors open at 6 PM and music starts at 8 PM both evenings.

January 26, 2016
Clearwater Will Take Hiatus in 2016, Return Next Year

The Great Hudson River Revival, popularly called The Clearwater Festival, will take a break in 2016. The festival was founded in 1966 by Toshi and Pete Seeger as a series of fundraising concerts to support the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization, and by 1978 had settled into its home at Croton Point Park in Westchester County.

Clearwater is currently facing some financial strains due to an extensive restoration of the sloop Clearwater, costing upward of $5,000 a day. Since hosting the large, two-day festival concurrently with the restoration project would be a struggle for the organization, several smaller fundraising concerts are being planned throughout the year. In the meantime, Clearwater is looking for support from the community here.

Sloop Clearwater

The festival draws an average of 15,000 attendees each of its two days and has played host to a variety of local and nation folk and roots-rock artists. While the festival will not be held this year, the organizers plan for it to return in its usual form in 2017.

Read the letter below from Clearwater below:

Dear Friends,

We are saddened to announce that Clearwater will not be holding its Great Hudson River Revival this year. As you may have heard, the sloop is undergoing its largest restoration ever. It is a restoration that costs $5,000 a day and will run until at least June 2016. We must take this time to focus our effort on making sure the boat can sail again this year. The sloop Clearwater is the foundation of our organization, the vessel that brings people to the Hudson River and an inspiration to all who love her. Our work to protect the Hudson River is still our primary mission.

While we will not be having a Revival this year, we will be holding a number of smaller fundraising concerts and events up and down the River throughout the year, and hope to have a larger riverside concert in the fall. Stay tuned and please join us!

If it were not for our members, volunteers, vendors, artists, and many supporters, there would not be a Clearwater. We appreciate your unwavering support as we navigate this difficult time. We ask you to stay with us so that we can Float the Boat and come back stronger next year with a celebration truly worthy of 50 years and an incredible Great Hudson River Revival in 2017.

The Felice Brothers – Clearwater 2015

While we wait for the festival to return next year, revisit NYS Music’s recap of the 2015 Clearwater Festival here.

January 25, 2016
Thunder 106 Brings Kelsea Ballerini to Starland Ballroom

Thunder 106 brought up – and – coming country artist Kelsea Ballerini to Starland Ballrom in Sayerville, NJ, for what promised to be a rocking night of female country artists. Kelsea Ballerini was supported by North Dakota’s Hailey Steele and NJ native Madeline Smith. Starland Ballroom has been hosting a slew of talented country artists in the recent months including Kip Moore and Michael Ray on the Wild Ones Tour and the upcoming show on February 14th with Dustin Lynch and Chris Lane.

Madeline Smith opened up the evening with a mix of her own songs and various covers of popular country songs to get the crowd engaged and involved. Among the covers played by Smith were “We Were Us” by Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, a good choice for a local artist to catch the attention of the crowd with a song they could sing along to, and her closing song, another by the extremely talented Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”.

Hailey Steele was up next after travelling from North Dakota to play two shows with Kelsea Ballerini, this show in NJ and the show the next day in Boston, MA. Steele took the stage with nothing but her guitar and strong vocals to captivate the crowd. She too played a good mix of songs including some of her more popular music from 2014 and 2015. “Another Like You”, an original by Steele was one of her most popular of the evening drawing strong favor from the crowd. The other song that seemed to stand out most with the crowd was “I Want Your Boyfriend” with a catchy chorus and highly relatable lyrics.

By the time Kelsea Ballerini was set to take the stage the crowd was more than ready to see what the 22 year old, up – and – coming country artist would bring to the stage. Ballerini took the stage with command and confidence of someone well beyond her years. She has a stage presence and charismatic personality that sets her apart from many other rising artists and will enable her to continue to grow as a musician.

Ballerini kicked things off with “Looking at Stars” off her first full length release, The First Time (2015). She continued on with a mix off songs off that record that had the crowd engaged and singing along including “Sirens” and her most recent single “Dibs” which was clearly a fan favorite from the crowd’s strong reaction. She carried on into “Peter Pan” which she introduced as a song for all of the girls who have encountered a guy that refuses to grow up and act his age, which is entirely relatable to the demographic of her fan base and the song “Stilettos, another relatable song for young girls about moving on from heartbreak and carrying on with your life. Ballerini is one of the stand out female artists in country currently that have been making a splash on country music radio with her strong willed, confident lyrics that resonate very strongly with the younger generation of country fans which is why she will continue to amass a dedicated fan base.

A highlight of the evening was her cover of Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” in which she enlisted the help Hailey Steele and had the entire crowd singing along emphatically as the two young women commanded the stage together. Ballerini ended the night on a very strong and memorable note with the spunky “XO” once again showing off her confident and spunky flare, and her most recognizable song, “Love Me Like You Mean It”. Ballerini took the country music world by storm with this song reaching gold as well as number one on the Billboard Country Airplay with her debut single. She is among ten other women in history to achieve such a feat including Carry Underwood most recently in 2006. Ballerini has had a lot going for her since her start and has capitalized on the many opportunities she has earned including her most recent nationwide tour opening for Jake Owen and Dan + Shay.

The night was a memorable concert with three talented young women looking to make a name for themselves in country music. Each showed great potential to carry on and further their careers. It will not be long until Ballerini, especially, is preforming on much larger stages much like the ones she was on during her fall tour.

January 25, 2016
Black Earth, Arch Enemy — Same Difference

Arch Enemy fans, meet Black Earth. No, we’re not talking about Arch Enemy’s debut album Black Earth; the reuniting band will take on the name of Black Earth for a limited run in Japan this spring.

Well this puts a whole new spin on bands reuniting. Swedish death metal rockers Arch Enemy will reunite their classic lineup — which consisted of Johan Liiva (vocals), Michael Amott (guitar), Christopher Amott (guitar), Sharlee D’Angelo (bass) and Daniel Erlandsson (drums) — in a head scratching way.

Black Earth will play songs from Arch Enemy’s first three albums, Black Earth (1996), Stigmata (1998) and Burning Bridges (1999). Fans are wondering why the band wouldn’t use the recognizable Arch Enemy brand name that they built.

Liiva and Christopher Amott rejoined Arch Enemy in Japan at last year’s Loud Park Festival, on Oct. 10-11 at the Saitama Super Arena, for a surprise appearance.

Fans are left wonder why the band didn’t keep the Arch Enemy name and have current vocalist Alissa White-Gluz and guitarist Jeff Loomis, who are not involved in the new project, rotate on and off stage, especially White-Gluz, who at least recorded an album with the band (War Eternal – 2014). White-Gluz could rotate with Liiva and sing the songs she recorded along with the songs sung by former vocalist Angela Gossow, to give fans the ultimate Arch Enemy experience.

This year marks the 20th anniversary for Arch Enemy.

Black Earth Japan Tour Dates:

05-17-2016 – Shibuya Club Quattro – Tokyo, Japan
05-19-2016 – Drum Be-1 – Fukuoka, Japan
05-21-2016 – Hiroshima Club Quattro – Hiroshima, Japan
05-23-2016 – Umeda Club Quattro – Osaka, Japan
05-24-2016 – Nagoya Club Quattro – Aichi, Japan
05-27-2016 – Lane24 Penny Sapporo – Sapporo, Japan

https://youtu.be/fKuoVRoQW8w

January 24, 2016
Dino Takes Hiatus from The Werks

Dino Dimitrouleas, bassist from The Werks, announced he will take a hiatus from the band and will not join them for their upcoming tour.

Dino The Werks

The Werks, whose former keyboardist Norman Dimitrouleas recently passed away, will head out on tour this week with a change to their lineup. Bassist — and older brother of Norman — Dino Dimitrouleas will be temporarily replaced by Jake “Baby Hands” Goldberg. Through a message posted to The Werks’ Facebook page, the elder Dimitrouleas announced that he will be taking a hiatus from the band.

I hope to return after this tour but at this junction in my life I am taking things one day at a time.

I want to thank Jake for keeping the show on the road as well as thank my family, friends, band mates and fans for being so supportive during this difficult period in my life. I also want to encourage all of our fans to support The Werks in my absence as this is a very difficult time for them as well.

The Werks tour will take them through parts of the Midwest, the Northeast and Colorado, ending in the South. Their one New York date is Feb. 6 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Other Northeast dates include Feb. 4 at Brighton Music Hall in Boston and Feb. 5 at Stage One in Fairfield, Connecticut.

January 24, 2016