Monday, July 02, 2007

IF KELLY CLARKSON CAN'T SELL OUT A TOUR...

...who can? I have never heard a Kelly Clarkson song in its entirety and do not care one whit about her career or her music, but when I see that someone with her popularity (two Grammys, multiplatinum album, etc.) can't 1) draw people to a free, televised show in New York or 2) sell enough tickets to justify a tour, I am simultaneously heartened and brought low.

I'm heartened because I realize that hey, nobody's coming to see my band, but no one's going to see one of the most popular acts in recent memory either. I'm brought low by it because it's further evidence that there's very little to no money in the music biz, no matter how popular or well-known you are or once were.

This reminds me of the new band The Soul of John Black, who I am told is only asking for a $300 guarantee. This is despite the fact that the band's founding member was a guitarist for Fishbone and wrote a song that Miles Davis covered on one of his last albums ("Jilli" from the album "Amandla").
If that guy feels like all he can ask for is $300 and he's done all that, there's no way my band's gonna be able to justify asking for even $50 to do a tour. And that's why we're not doing one...and never have. And never will...

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