Are Arena Concerts and Sporting Events Becoming Obsolete?

The Internet Wins

BY MARISSA OSWALD Rihanna’s dramatic performance during her 2011 Loud Tour resounded through Philly this Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.  Her performance wowed a less-than-full house of people of all ages. But the congestion from cars and intoxicated folks wasn’t merely from the pop star’s show; the Phillies played at Citizen’s Bank Center across the street while the Philadelphia Union and Madrid soccer teams dueled at the Link. Despite the trilogy of shows, and the congested parkway after dark, audience numbers per each venue were actually much lower than usual.
This phenomena is happening not only in Philadelphia, but across the entire country. Rihanna’s Loud Tour is her third international tour, capping off her most successful year yet.  Her 2010 album of the same title held 3 #1 hit single on U.S. charts.  But many of her tour locations had to be canceled due to low ticket sales.  Last year’s tour in Boston sold out at 15,000 tickets, but this year, little more than 3,000 tickets were sold.  How could her ticket sales be lower than they’ve ever been?
The tour is also the most elaborately planned and executed; her 22-song set list was comprised of every one of her hits, and it seemed as if each some elicited a different costume change and large prop on stage, including a pink army tank, metal sky scraper, and full on strip club (just to name a few.)  Her talent was keener than her fans have ever seen it, singing and dancing without lip syncing for over 2 full hours.
If stars like Rihanna aren’t hustling tickets, then imagine what other musical acts are dealing with.  Ellie Goulding, this year’s British breakthrough artist, is currently on her first international tour.  But tonight’s concert at the Electric Factory apparently solicited so few sold tickets that it was advertised on Groupon for $16 opposed to the $44 it originally cost for single admittance.
It’s no mystery that record sales are down because of illegal downloads; but will musicians be able to maintain their mega-million-dollar reputations?
Ask players in the NBA and NFL and they certainly won’t crack a smile.  After the NFL recently went into lockdown mode due to low ticket sales that were less than supportive of the multi-million dollar player contracts, the NBA has followed their example.  This season will mark the first time in the NBA’s history that it was shut down, and instead, new and much lower price-tags for players will be discussed and put into action if future seasons can persist.
Just as big shot companies and publications are consolidating, throwing 2nd place names into extinction  such as Borders (R.I.P.) vs. Barnes & Noble, we’re starting to see the negative effects of entertainment consolidation as well.  In a world where the internet reigns over all media, half the time spent surfing the web seems to be entertainment; however, it’s been taken to the point where real-life entertainment is not yet obsolete, but certainly unneeded.
The internet was originally built so we could connect with endless possibilities.  But in reality, is that era extinct?