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Rihanna's US Leg Of Tour Flops

billyworld99

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Rihanna’s American tour ‘flops’
Posted Wed 23 Mar 2011 16:50 GMT by Ben Gilbert in Behind The Music
She may be one of the world's biggest pop stars but Rihanna must be wondering what that actually means right now. The Barbadian star, fresh from her acclaimed new album, ‘Loud', which has spawned a string of global chart hits, is reportedly having real trouble getting her US fanbase excited about the accompanying tour.

Announcing the 86-date international jaunt last month, the singer promised that "an incredible ride" awaited all those lucky enough to be there. "I'm excited to get out on the road and share my new music from this album. We are going to have an amazing time and I know my fans are ready to get LOUD!" she gushed.

But it seems not that many of them are actually ready and Rihanna is said to be on the brink of axing a host of the dates due to a lukewarm response. "It has been a big disappointment. The ticket sales in big US cities like Boston are so bad, they will barely cover basics like the lighting and other arena costs," said a source...


THE REST OF THE STORY HERE:

http://new.uk.music.yahoo.com/blogs/behind_the_music/47876/rihannas-american-tour-flops/
 
Well, that's no surprise. When you base your entire career on how a single will do at the club, there's bound to be a decline of massive proportion when you take out the autotune and attempt to do a live show. Moreover, Rihanna can't really dance, or do much of anything, really--at least Britney Spears and Lady Gaga can dance. That's not everything, though--that's only a supplement to the reason why this tour and many others haven't done as well as investors initially expected....

According to the article you cited, the likes of Britney Spears, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, and 50 Cent, have also suffered from low ticket sales. Could it be because people are sick of hearing mediocre, borderline talentless acts? (Aguilera and Kanye West are spared of this critique.) Given their massive success elsewhere, I'd say not--people are now more than ever interested in lauding what truly sucks (i.e. Rebecca Black going no. 01 on iTunes.)

The likelier reason is the price of the tickets themselves--some of these tickets go for $100 per seat, and with most of the acts they cited, that's simply not worth it, especially given the deplorable state of the American economy which is forcing people to truly re-think their priorities as far as where that money is invested. It's an entirely different thing to waste $1.29 on a Rihanna single, or $20.00 on a Lady Gaga album, than to waste $100+ to go see either live in concert--that kind of money can pay a bill, or buy groceries for a week. It's all about priorities--moreover, people who truly appreciate music aren't going to go to a Rihanna or a Lady Gaga concert--those are obviously targeted at impressionable teenagers who go along with their friends for the fad--there are still people out there, even in this economy, who would be willing to pay good money to see a truly good act, but that's not mainstream pop. So, what it comes down to, is really, how much is (Rihanna, Gaga, Spears, etc.) worth to you, especially given the dire times we are all facing.

Thus, normal people are now more than ever pressured to decide where to best put their money. Doubtlessly, the "die-hard" fans of any given mainstream artist will buy tickets--but there aren't enough of these in any/every given tour city to fill out an entire stadium in an economy which is basically in shambles at the moment. Going to a concert is considered a luxury, and not one which many people can afford at the moment, so it is only natural that ticket sales would decline--especially for such mediocre acts.

Countries with better economies are supporting these tours better--Rihanna's LOUD tour is going incredibly well in the U.K., and Britney's Circus tour did well in Western Europe as well--all from your article.
 
the ticket prices are the clue, i am sure. There have been discussions about that among many of my friends and music mailing lists :)

I have seen Rihanna at the WMA 2006, her performance was great! It's pretty unfair to say she is not talented enough.
 
bluemoonchild said:
the ticket prices are the clue, i am sure. There have been discussions about that among many of my friends and music mailing lists :)

I have seen Rihanna at the WMA 2006, her performance was great! It's pretty unfair to say she is not talented enough.
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I agree.............it has become too expensive to attend concerts anymore!!!
 
However, her shows here in the UK are doing very well, I think all but one she just added is sold out, not too sure on that though. There is quite good promotion here too, I've seen the advert for her shows about 100 times :lol:
I don't really rate her as a live performer, but I think she's okay, I thought about getting tickets, but they only had upper tier tickets left which I didn't want.
 
Mikage Souji said:
Could it be because people are sick of hearing mediocre, borderline talentless acts?
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That would be a great reason to celebrate people waking up, finally, lol.


Mikage Souji said:
The likelier reason is the price of the tickets themselves--some of these tickets go for $100 per seat, and with most of the acts they cited, that's simply not worth it, especially given the deplorable state of the American economy which is forcing people to truly re-think their priorities as far as where that money is invested. It's an entirely different thing to waste $1.29 on a Rihanna single, or $20.00 on a Lady Gaga album, than to waste $100+ to go see either live in concert--that kind of money can pay a bill, or buy groceries for a week. It's all about priorities--moreover, people who truly appreciate music aren't going to go to a Rihanna or a Lady Gaga concert--those are obviously targeted at impressionable teenagers who go along with their friends for the fad--there are still people out there, even in this economy, who would be willing to pay good money to see a truly good act, but that's not mainstream pop. So, what it comes down to, is really, how much is (Rihanna, Gaga, Spears, etc.) worth to you, especially given the dire times we are all facing.

Countries with better economies are supporting these tours better--Rihanna's LOUD tour is going incredibly well in the U.K., and Britney's Circus tour did well in Western Europe as well--all from your article.
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I'm more inclined to blame it on the money, as well.

And I just really hope the Euro-pop genre, amongst some others, will become extinct. ..
 
Katy Perry is also on tour and so far the tickets have been selling very well, so it must have something to do with Rihanna herself.
 
dont know whos voice is worse. perrys or rihanna lol
 
I certainly wouldn't call it a "flop," to be honest. Not many artists nowadays could sell out every date in a large arena tour.
 
DanceOfZenab1994 said:
^ That's because not many are deserving of the title "artist"
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LMAO! I think maybe Rihanna's hype is dying down? If Perry's concerts are selling well.. I think Rihanna has more talent than Perry though.

Concert prices are ridiculous now :( I saw one of my favourite bands last summer and it was 70$ for an outside concert :eek: It was worth it though :lol:
 
That's sad, I like her. But I must agree no one can afford to go to concerts anymore.
 
Concert prices are ridiculous now I saw one of my favourite bands last summer and it was 70$ for an outside concert It was worth it though
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How much were the booking and ticket fees? I paid $120 for a 2.5 hour show but $20 of that went to Ticketmaster. Most shows here are around $100 for GA which isn't bad and I'd actually prefer to support them through their shows.

In defense of Rhianna (I feel dirty saying that) most bands are finding it near-impossible to sell out full arenas, stadiums, theatres etc even at cheaper prices.
 
I agree ticket prices have paid a severe price in artists not selling out arenas anymore. People simply dont have that sort of money anymore and tickets are so much more expensive than they used to be. I'd love personally to go to more concerts but simply cannot afford to go to loads of concerts.
 
Yea, I think the Rihanna hype is dwindling. I used to wish to be a pop, rock star but now I just think it must be very stressful!
 
It's not ticket sales, it's Rihanna. She doesn't have the hardcore fan base of Britney Spears to pull off successful tours. She's a singles artist and always will be.
 
I agree Travis, although I think Rihanna has some okay songs, I don't think its the ticket price, they don't seem to be overly priced. Many artists ticket prices are higher than hers.
 
Reading this thread I feel like I stepped into a parallel universe!

Well, I guess haters are always gonna hate.
 
StaceyMJ said:
What the...? I'm not even going to begin.
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LMAO! So funny people believe in that ish... No one here is hating. Just telling the truth. Rihanna isn't the kind of act people want to go see in concert. She's not Madonna or even Britney Spears. She's a singles artist and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the truth. Plus, I really think Rihanna lost a lot of respect after the way she handled the Chris Brown scandal (staying silent for 9 months and then opening up to sell an album). I know that's the case for me.
 
Travis said:
LMAO! So funny people believe in that ish... No one here is hating. Just telling the truth. Rihanna isn't the kind of act people want to go see in concert. She's not taken seriously as an artist. She's a singles artist and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the truth. Plus, I really think Rihanna lost a lot of respect after the way she handled the Chris Brown scandal (staying silent for 9 months and then opening up to sell an album). I know that's the case for me.
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Haha yeah that's fair enough. I'm no die-hard of hers or anything, I think she's fun and that's about it really.
 
To say somebody deserves hate is very drastic, why even waste time on her or anyone one doesn't like?.. I agree about the Illuminati part, though... ):

She's got some hot hits and does have a voice to an extent that unfortunately she doesn't try to cultivate and relies on nothing more than hype and beauty. Her live-singing voice is terrible, though, and she seems the type to solely rely on the confidence she has in her looks and on the shallow catchiness of her songs. She's truly beautiful, and I'm not even one to compliment someone's looks unless being completely certain of it. But her parading this physical quality the way she does and getting very dark (her wearing horns and all the other strange appearances) and soft-pornish is ruining it for her, especially, she and other such acts shouldn't cross this line. Unfortunately, this is virtually all we're seeing from mainstream female artists nowadays. They're ruining themselves, their talents and looks and it's very sad. ..
 
Travis said:
It's not ticket sales, it's Rihanna. She doesn't have the hardcore fan base of Britney Spears to pull off successful tours. She's a singles artist and always will be.
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It's a bit of both, I think. When people have more money, they are more willing to entertain frivolous stuff like Rihanna concerts. When the economy falls on hard times, however, people are made to prioritize, and if they do choose to grant themselves the luxury of attending a concert, they're bound to be more selective as to who the artist they're going to see is, because tickets and transportation are expensive. Especially since nowadays, with the revenue illegal downloads have taken from musicians' (and record companies') incomes, the prices per seat of their tours have risen to attempt to make up for that loss, and thus the reason why people are less willing to shell out the sums they used to have little to no qualms doing in a better economy, even for someone equivalent to Rihanna.

This hypothesis seems to explain why her tour flopped in the U.S. but is doing exceptionally well in the UK and other countries which are economically better off. Rihanna is Rihanna no matter whether she's in the U.S. or the UK--her skills don't improve or worsen in one area or the other, and I doubt most people humouring her concerts at the UK fancy her a great artist--they're most likely just going to have a fun time. Thus, in the end, it is truly about the money.
 
Alma said:
To say somebody deserves hate is very drastic, why even waste time on her or anyone one doesn't like?.. I agree about the Illuminati part, though... ):

She's got some hot hits and does have a voice to an extent that unfortunately she doesn't try to cultivate and relies on nothing more than hype and beauty. Her live-singing voice is terrible, though, and she seems the type to solely rely on the confidence she has in her looks and on the shallow catchiness of her songs. She's truly beautiful, and I'm not even one to compliment someone's looks unless being completely certain of it. But her parading this physical quality the way she does and getting very dark (her wearing horns and all the other strange appearances) and soft-pornish is ruining it for her, especially, she and other such acts shouldn't cross this line. Unfortunately, this is virtually all we're seeing from mainstream female artists nowadays. They're ruining themselves, their talents and looks and it's very sad. ..
Click to expand...

Regarding the bolded part, can you PM me about it? Don't want to derail the thread but I'm curious about that...
 
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