Archive for 2012
You Can’t Kill Demand for a Product by Giving it to More People
By Jim McCarthy
2 comments
Imagine professional basketball as a business that is exactly the same as it is now except that you couldn’t watch a game if you weren’t in the stadium when the game happened. What would that be like? Would it make the live product more valuable? Would the teams suddenly make a fortune charging for tickets, [...]
Share and Enjoy:
TEDxBroadway 2012 Reflections
By Jim McCarthy
0 comments
It’s been a few days, but I’ve been traveling, recovering, and handling all the stuff that went to the back burner in the run up to the event. Since last Monday in New York, I’ve had plenty of time to think about TEDxBroadway 2012, and I’m finally sharing those thoughts here. My bottom line is [...]
Share and Enjoy:
A Vast Churning River of Hoary Old Cliches? Do Tell, Trevor
By Jim McCarthy
0 comments
Once again, I’m happy to have Trevor O’Donnell, an arts & entertainment consultant who’s developed successful marketing/sales initiatives for Disney Theatrical Productions, Cameron Mackintosh, Cirque du Soleil and many others, as a guest poster on Live 2.0. He’s got a new book that’s just out, Marketing the Arts to Death: How Lazy Language is Killing [...]
Share and Enjoy:
TEDxBroadway: Why Look 20 Years Into the Future?
By Jim McCarthy
0 comments
Twenty years ago, the World Wide Web barely existed, the Soviet Union had just collapsed, MTV’s The Real World, considered the precursor of reality TV, was a few months away from its debut, Times Square was a dangerous and run down place, the total value of China’s economy was only about half a trillion dollars a [...]
Share and Enjoy:
Subscribe
Sign up for the monthly Live 2.0 newsletter. Commentary, interviews and more from smart, provocative, opinionated leaders in the Live 2.0 revolution.
Popular Articles
- Our Story, and We’re Sticking To It
- Several Non-Opinions about Ticket Pricing
- Group Sales is Dead
- “Discounting Silliness” Presentation Now Live
- How Not To Discount, A Recap
- More Pie Now!
- Change is Only Dramatic to People Used to the Current Thing
- Audience-Oriented, It’s What’s For Dinner
- The Nutcracker is Bad for Ballet like Easter is Bad for Churches
- Awaiting the Great Pumpkin, er, Great Performance
Archives
-
2012
- 2011
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
-
- Something Happened Last Night...
- Three Things To Do to Make a Daily Deal Work for You
- Return of the Great Pumpkin...wait, no
- Godspell, Boot Camp and More
- Congratulations to the First Community-Produced Broadway Musical!
- I wonder how much I could buy the domain 'qwikster.com' for?
- Digital Marketing Boot Camp, Poll Question Answers
- We're a Little Worse Today
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
-
- The Rock Revolution, a View from 1967
- Will There Be an NFL Season? And What Does That Mean to You?
- Pick Up "Do the Work" for Free
- Dodgers Taken Over by MLB
- Goldstar Advisory Board
- Dynamic Pricing at TM
- Let's Clarify This "Never Give Up" Thing
- Our Story, and We're Sticking To It
- ...Or You Could Do it Right to Begin With
- Live Nation and Warner Music Synergy? Hmmm.
- March 2011
-
- Do Restaurateurs Hate Groupon and Yelp?
- Another Violent Tornado of Truth...
- What Do I Think of Groupon?
- How Do You Capitalize on "Winning"?
- Cause and Correlation and You've Still Got to Do Something People Want
- The ABA: Failing to Greatness
- The Thing About Cuts to Government Arts Programs Is...
- If We're Not Getting Better, We're Getting Ignored
- February 2011
- January 2011
-
- 2010
- December 2010
- November 2010
-
- Is Live Entertainment An Industry?
- How to Feel Good About Ditching Work Early Today...
- What Do You Mean, Price Gouging?
- You Can't Fault 'em For Not Being Optimistic...
- Dealwire: Goldstar's Affiliate Program
- Donating Money for a Tax Write-Off is Like Giving Away a Dollar to Save Fifty Cents
- Thinning the Herd? You Go First
- 3 Keys to Smart, Strategic Discounting
- Arrogance, Self-Delusion and Other Fine Qualities
- What Does It Mean, Halloween?
- "Rally" Shows the Value of a Live Event
- October 2010
-
- Reward Me, Don't Pay Me
- Are You Waiting for the Great Pumpkin?
- Price and Convenience Don't Matter if I Don't Care
- What Is Magic Johnson Doing Indeed?
- It's All About Value
- Does Quality Matter to You? What the Heck is Quality Anyway?
- Closing the Barn Door BEFORE The Horses Leave
- Quick Draw: Do You Know the Difference Between Dynamic and Variable Pricing?
- Before You Start With Dynamic Pricing...
- How and Why People Share
- Monday Morning Ambush
- Emancipate Yourself from Mental Slavery (on Pricing)
- Dynamic Pricing Post Upcoming
- Number 3!
- Several Non-Opinions about Ticket Pricing
- Tips for Giving a Performance Review
- A Non-Profit Doesn't HAVE to Lose Money
- September 2010
-
- You Can Choose Not to Be Affected by Market Forces...
- The Wisdom of the Soda Seller
- Make it For An Audience, or Don't Have the Nerve to Charge Money
- The 4% Rule
- Check Your Alignment
- Do You Refuse To Pander? Do You Think You'd Be Good at It If You Tried?
- Everybody's a Rock Star Somewhere, Part 2
- Everybody's a Rock Star Somewhere
- Unforced Error of the Almost Unbelievable Kind
- Is 'Holy Sh*t' the Best Theatre Can Do?
- Should NASCAR Pursue a Black Audience?
- Quick Draw! Why Customers Don't Cost You Anything
- 3 Things the NFL Can Teach the Rest of the Live Business
- What Makes a Renaissance Happen?
- Bob Dylan-Fundamentalist
- Quick Draw: Fixed and Variable Costs
- Is Theatre Oversupplied or Underdemanded?
- August 2010
-
- Quick Draw-Average Price Per Ticket and Why You Shouldn't Use it
- Jet Blue's Steven Slater Is a Hero of Absolutely Nothing
- Problem Solving at Goldstar
- "Popular" is Not the Opposite of "Relevant"
- The Power of Earning Your Way
- Quick Draw: Revenue Per Seat
- Wave Goodbye to A "Magical" Product
- How Not To Wipe Out on a Jet Ski AND Save Your Arts/Entertainment Organization in One Easy Lesson
- Life, Liberty and the Right to a Printed Ticket?
- July 2010
-
- How Gates Helped Us Build a Multi-Million Dollar Ticket Selling Business, Part 2
- Industry Tweeting @goldstarjim
- How Gates Helped Us Build a Multi-Million Dollar Ticket Selling Business, Part 1
- Group Sales is Dead, Part Two
- Plan Your Garden; Don't Just Complain about Weeds
- The Broker's Dilemma
- Lebron Passes Up the Opportunity for Greatness
- Online Comments are as Bad as Hitler
- June 2010
-
- Group Sales is Dead
- Does Opera Need New Audience?
- Misunderstanding Sell Outs
- You Won't Find the Future By Polishing the Past
- The War of Attrition
- There's No Such Thing as the "Concert Business"
- "Discounting Silliness" Presentation Now Live
- EAMC Conference Presentation Online Tomorrow
- Write the CEO an Email, Get a Lawyer Letter
- The Agony of Defeat and How to Use It
- Get Ready for More Targeting Failure
- May 2010
-
- Remember This The Next Time Someone Tells You a Video Went Viral...
- Will Broadway Lead or Be Led?
- Michael Kuchwara
- Two Ways of Looking at Premium Pricing
- What I Didn't Get A Chance to Say at the Conference
- How Dynamic Do You Want it?
- My Interview with Dave Barry
- How Not To Discount, A Recap
- How Not to Discount, Part 4
- How Not to Discount, Part 3
- How Not to Discount, Part 2
- How Not To Discount, Part 1
- The Future of Live Entertainment Looks Kinda Like A Cupcake Being Fired Out of a Cannon
- April 2010
-
- Toby Goes to Medieval Times
- Half Price Cannibalization? Only If You Do it Wrong
- Because That's Where the Money (and Value) Is
- Live Nation-Ticketmaster Story in the NYT
- Boston Ballet Comments on the Charm Bracelet
- More Merger Mayhem
- Apple Going into the Live Business
- Too Small to Meter, but Not Too Small to Matter
- A Sterling Idea
- Raise Your Hand if You Want More Ads
- What's Wrong with the Word Customer?
- Why Are Tickets More Expensive? Because It's All About Being There
- Delivering Happiness
- March 2010
-
- Necessary But Not Sufficient
- Balancing Security and Freedom
- Actually, This is Not a Bad Idea
- 3 Keys to Pie-Growing
- Live Nation Layoffs and the Perils of Vertical Integration
- True Twitter Stories: Behind the Tweet
- (What's So Funny 'bout) Speaking Like a Human Being
- Yelp and the New New World of Feedback
- Anna Nicole The Opera
- Comcast to Buy Paciolan from Ticketmaster
- Let's Get Marginal
- Good Service is (Nearly) Free
- "How Do I Go Viral?"
- February 2010
-
- More Pie Now!
- The Past Is Gone
- The Springsteen Refunds
- Membership Has Its Rewards
- Should You Be Selling "The Arts"?
- Shutting Down the Factory...not a Key to Success
- My Interview on Mixergy
- TED This Week and the 1 Year Anniversary of Live 2.0
- Know Your Customers or Just Think You Do
- The Truth Hurts, but Also Sets You Free
- "Every Marketing Program Begins with the Same Question..."
- To Be or Not To Be
- The Endless Struggle to Think Well of Yourself
- Three Things Theatres (or anyone) Must Do to Survive and Thrive
- January 2010
-
- This is Why I Hate the News
- Frank Eliason Coming Up on Live 2.0 and What About Web 3.0?
- Why Philadelphia Orchestra May Need to File Bankruptcy
- Live Nation Ticketmaster Merger Approved
- Murder-Suicide Avoided in Cleveland
- Live Nation May Sell Buildings to AEG
- Why Yelp Needs $50 Million
- Pepsi Doesn't Think the Bowl's So Super
- "Exploiting" Opera is the First Step to Making People Care
- Inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.
- The Very Bright Future of the Live Entertainment Business
- Change is Only Dramatic to People Used to the Current Thing
- What Live Entertainment Organizations Can Learn from the Leno Disaster
- Food IS Fun, not Food
- The Importance of Being Spiderman
- Seth Godin Unknowingly Backs Me Up
- Hear Me Now, Listen Later: Price Has Nothing to Do With Cost
- TM-Live Nation Merger Looks Close to 100%
- Audience-Oriented, It's What's For Dinner
-
- 2009
- December 2009
-
- Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger Wrinkle
- The Nutty Thief Revealed...
- The Nutty Award Stolen
- No Hiding the Decline Here
- How NOT to Save Online Advertising
- The Wandering Tribe of Hopeful Advertising Dollars...
- 3 Steps to Saving Sunset Strip
- The Nutcracker is Bad for Ballet like Easter is Bad for Churches
- Why Ben and Jerry's Doesn't Sell Hardware
- November 2009
-
- Part 2 of My Chat with Greg Sandow
- Greg Sandow-Thinking about the Future of Classical Music
- Video Chat with Greg Sandow Coming Up
- "More than a Blonde Wig and a Soldier's Outfit..."
- Comcast to the Rescue of TM-Live Nation?
- The Album is Dead. Long Live the Album
- NASCAR is Smarter Than You
- All Cake, No File, All Good
- Either Hilariously Great or Incredibly Dumb. Possibly Both.
- Don't Confuse Me With the Facts
- The Vapid Pyramid of Valueless Advertising
- AEG Considering New Ticketing Partner
- October 2009
-
- Empty Seats? Or the End of the World?
- Awaiting the Great Pumpkin, er, Great Performance
- Puritans and Cake Without Icing
- Digital Dust in the Wind
- U2 and How Not to Milk It
- How to Sound Like a Social Media Genius
- How Your Organization Can Be As Awesome As Cirque Du Soleil
- It's a Real-Time Feedback World, So You Might As Well Like It!
- Safe is Dangerous
- How Not to Be Audience-Centered, 'Stealing from Little Girls' Edition
- Food is Now Entertainment-How Live 2.0 is That?
- Can We Stop Chasing Our (Long) Tails Now?
- Twitter: The Most Successful Website Ever that Only Kinda Works
- TM-Live Nation Merger Hits Some (Ultimately Irrelevant) Snags
- The Olympics: A 2-week Commercial or a Chance to Make an Army of Advocates
- How to Ruin a Good Thing
- Chicago Not Hosting the Olympics...
- What Are You Doing for Your Chief Zee?
- Save Money by Shutting Down?
- September 2009
-
- Will You Nurture Fear or Dreams?
- Customer Experience: Our Upcoming Edition
- Leading the Culture
- Play Like a (Detroit) Tiger
- "Do I Look Lucky?
- "Slowly Strangling the Golden Goose"
- Ah, Zyrtec 5mg, thanks for dropping by!
- Take It From People Who Know What a Flop Is
- The Nacho Paradox
- Ken Davenport Chat, part 3
- Theo's Backpack and What It Means to You
- Ken Davenport Conversation, Part 2
- A Great Idea: Perform the Album
- My Chat with Ken Davenport, Part 1
- There Is No Concert Business
- 1 Step Strategy for Success: Be Awesome
- "It Can Be Hurt!"
- Pretendinitis in the NFL?
- Who Wants to Be a Live Entertainment Entrepreneur?
- August 2009
-
- With Your Help, We Can Stop Pretendinitis
- Ticketmaster Tried to Cobble Together Anti-Live Nation Coalition
- If You Talked to Your Friends about Your Show the Way Your Copy Talks about Your Show...
- 10 Minutes to Understanding Live 2.0
- Don't Blast Me, Bro!
- Everyone's a Rock Star Somewhere
- Why the Closing of Opera Companies Has Nothing to Do with Money
- Not Selling Out-The Rockstar Edition
- Why Selling Out Is Less Important Than You Think
- Learn Three Marketing Strategies of Modern Circuses
- The (Financial) Results Are In...Is the Industry Healthy?
- Now That I've Got Your Attention...
- The Live 2.0 Manifesto
- Mariah Carey and Perhaps the Worst Idea Ever
- "Free" and the Insidious Influence of the Underpants Gnomes
- Is the Concert Business Imploding?
- The Long (But Not Necessarily So Valuable or Relevant) Tail
- My Problem with Chris Anderson's Work
- All about the LUV
- July 2009
-
- Live 2.0 Edition 6: The Audience Edition
- Be the Jackie Chan of Live Entertainment
- What Live Entertainment Can Learn from Chic-Fil-A
- Only You Can Make You a Star
- Edition 6 is just days away...
- Egg Timer Update
- The Egg Timer Method
- Dr. No and the Courageous Deletions
- "Long Tail" Meet "New Rules"
- "The Long Tail" in Live Entertainment
- Lebron James and Nike Prove My Point
- Extendinitis
- What Would Mark Twain Say About Feedback
- Today's Reader to Critics: Show Me Something Special
- Audience: It's What You're There For
- Michael Again...But There's a Good Reason!
- June 2009
-
- The Freeconomy: Believe it or Not?
- AEG's Michael Jackson Problem
- Live 2.0 Edition 5: Innovation Beats a Bad Economy
- Edition 5 Appearing Tomorrow!
- Center Theatre Group in LA Looking for Box Office Director
- Just Don't Think Pink
- A Little Clarity about Banana Splits
- The Banana Split Test
- In Ghostlier Demarcations, Keener Sounds
- The "Great Performance" and the "Better Mousetrap"
- Miley Cyrus "Controls" the Secondary Market
- Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying
- Captured on Film: How to be a successful marketer
- If You Talked To People the Way Advertising Talked to People...
- 3 Ways to Do Paperless Ticketing for Live Shows
- How to Drive Young People Away from Your Venue in Droves
- Live Nation Extends "No Service Fee" Promotion
- 1 More Frame-Breaking Strategy for Theatres to Grow Audiences Faster
- 2 Frame-Breaking Strategies for Theatres to Build Audience Faster
- 3 Things Theatres Do that Are So 20th Century
- Why Live Nation is REALLY Killing Convenience Fees
- Anvil: Stuck in a 1.0 World
- May 2009
-
- Best...Broadway Season...Ever...
- Goldstar Venue Relations Job Posting
- Are You Really a Permission Marketer?
- Customers Aren't Slaves - Stop Trying to "Own" Them
- 3 Ways You're Wrong about Live Entertainment-Part 3
- 3 Ways You're Wrong about Live Entertainment-Part 2
- 3 Ways You're Wrong about Live Entertainment-Part 1
- Live 2.0 Edition 4: The New Media Edition
- Edition 4 Out Tomorrow
- Bruce Springsteen and the Future of Entertainment
- Live 2.0 Now Available on Your Kindle
- Three Ways Theatres Can Use Twitter Right Now
- Awards or Sales? I'll Take Sales
- What's the Difference Between Roller Derby and the XFL?
- You know what customers love? Rules
- Live Nation Selling Boston Venues
- Get a New Rubber Band
- Like I Said, "Twitter Like You Mean it" (Or Don't)
- The New Media Edition...Coming Later In May
- April 2009
-
- A Cirque Update
- We May Have Found the Limit...
- The Boo Birds Are Out...
- ...Annnnd It's Gone.
- Revenue Per Seat-The Master Marketing Metric
- Twitter's Secret Advantage Could be its Demographic...
- Pretendinitis
- Greg Sandow in Edition 4
- Why Lynda Carter Loves Performing Live
- Stubhub on the Selling Block?
- Live 2.0 Edition 3: Why We Love Live Entertainment
- Twitter Like You Mean It (Or Don't)
- "The Transforming Fire of Machines..."
- What's Your Multiplier?
- The "Why We Love It" Edition Comes Out This Week!
- Becoming Live 2.0: You Are Your Own Marketing Part 2
- Innovation? In Classical Music?
- March 2009
-
- Sean Moriarty of Ticketmaster Resigns
- Becoming Live 2.0: You Are Your Marketing Part 1
- My iChat with Natasha Tsakos
- Economist Will Page Says Hello
- If you don't think of this as Live Entertainment, you need to catch up...
- Gene Vs. Bob on Video
- "Recordings Have Become Advertisements for Shows"
- The Market is Telling You Something
- "Live Has Officially Taken Over Recorded..."
- A Disrepectful (But Highly Entertaining) Exchange of Ideas...
- One...Million...Tickets! That's a Thriller
- Live 2.0 Edition 2: The Innovation Edition
- The Innovation Edition Out Tomorrow
- Preparing for a Zombie Invasion Makes Good Marketing
- AEG to TM and Live Nation: "What Are We, Chopped Liver?"
- No Doubt the Ticket's More Valuable
- Bringing "El Sistema" to the U.S.
- You're Going to Want to Hear Carmen
- CDs, like Real Estate, are a Great Value
- Who Said It? "If I Ran the NEA?"-- The Answer
- Bowling Alone-Why Live Entertainment is More Valuable Than Ever
- February 2009
-
- "If I Ran the NEA..." Who Said it?
- Becoming Live 2.0: Develop a Niche Part 2
- Revising My Opinion on the LN-TM Merger
- Edition 2 Appears March 10th
- Advertising in Decline? You think?
- Becoming Live 2.0: Develop a Niche Part 1
- Frame-Breaker Paulus Manker Writes In
- As it Was with This, So Shall It be with Prices
- Becoming Live 2.0: The Secret Ingredient is Leadership
- The Best Terrible Idea I've Ever Heard
- Part of Why Traditional Marketing Doesn't Work Anymore...
- Live 2.0 at SXSW March 17th
- Who Wants to Be a Pontiac?
- Swapping in Chicago
- How to Become a Live 2.0 Organization: A Step by Step Guide
- Trevor O'Donnell Drops by to Talk Live 2.0
- Chat with Natasha Was Great; Video Quality, Way Less Great
- TV is an Excellent Way to Market Your Live Show
- Ichatting with Natasha Tsakos Today...
- Breaking the Frame
- Perhaps the Worst Use of Money Ever...
- A Presidents Day Tradition since 2010...
- You Are Your Marketing (Because Nothing Else Works)
- Innovation, with Mustard and Relish
- Anti-Valentine's Day: A Live 2.0 Phenomenon
- Funny How Supply and Demand Have Nothing to Do with it
- The Future is a Niche Market, Contd. (The 'But How?' Edition)
- Some reactions to the Launch of Live 2.0
- "You're Stupid! Give me Money!"
- Bye, Bye, Ticketmaster?
- Live 2.0 TED Presentation, Now Available!
- Live Entertainment and the Recovery
- I'm sorta in love with Natasha Tsakos
- I don't know Irving yet, but I'd like to...
- Life's a Pitch
- The Merger: Why?
- Ben Zander Challenges Me on Live 2.0
- Ticketnation? Live Master? The Biggies Talk Merger
- Live blogging TED all week
- Live 2.0 Edition 1
- The Unveiling is Nigh!
- January 2009
-
- Live Nation Ticketing System Launches, Struggles, Fail Whales Sighted
- The Future is a Niche Market, Cirque-Comes-To-Santa-Monica edition
- So does that make this White Thursday?
- Stewart Copeland of The Police talks to Live 2.0
- How Not to Be a Live 2.0 Organization, MPAA Edition
- "In a World..." in a Theatre
- Today's NBA: The Sons of Meadowlark
- Lucha Va Voom: Live 2.0 to the Core
- Greg Sandow: Don't Fear the Internet Reaper
- Quality? Marketability? Yes, Please.
- Jenny Rogers of 'Wickets' Writes In
- Murder! Suicide! Oh, the Drama!
- How Many T-shirts Fit Through a Pipeline?
- Goldstar Suppliers, Welcome to the Conversation!
- The Purple Cow and the Jet That Doesn't Fly
- It's Time to Stop Trying to Save Advertising
- Barack Obama: First Live 2.0 President
- "The Conversation" is Alive and Well
- Steve Jobs: The Great Innovator
- Maybe I Should Be Writing This on My Commodore 64, too
- The Future is a Niche Market, contd. (or, I'll make you a deal on this boat anchor)
- Do you care what Verizon thinks?
- Music Makes a Bad Religion
- Is Broadway a Live 2.0 Industry?
- This is the Brooklyn Nets Century...or at least it should be!
- Ticketmaster Expects Prices to Drop in 2009
- What is the Right Price for Recorded Music?
- Leftsetz: Painfully Right Again
- Happy Black Tuesday!
- Grateful Dead Touring Again (but not because of money)
- David Bowie: Live 2.0 Prophet
- It's Official: The Ticketmaster-uber-alles Era is Over
-
- 2008
- December 2008
-
- The Rising Tide of Live 2.0
- Breaking News: Kirov Ballet Wins 2008 Nutty!
- A Steep Price to Pay for Content
- Arena Football, We Hardly Knew Ye
- The Future is a Niche Market, contd.
- Live 2.0: The Content Creation Story
- Look this up at beside-the-point.com
- The Perils of Being Live 1.0
- Panos Nails It-The Future is a Niche Market
- Will There Be a Baseball Recession?
- Tribune Files for Bankruptcy, Cubs Not Their Problem
- In a Live 2.0 World, You Are Your Marketing
- "All The Money is On the Road..."
- In a Live 2.0 World, it's About the Audience
- Live Titans Replace Recorded Giants
- YouTube Gets It
- Live 2.0 Launches at TED conference February 3rd
-
Topics
- Live 2.0
- Live Nation
- Ticketmaster
- Goldstar
- Cirque Du Soleil
- TED
- Broadway
- Bob Lefsetz
- Greg Sandow
- Seth Godin
- Popular
- marketing
- Live entertainment
- secondary market
- Chris Anderson
- Springsteen
- Bruce Springsteen
- classical music
- NFL
- Advertising
- discounting
- Stewart Copeland
- dynamic pricing
- AEG
- price gouging
- Tickets.com
- Wall Street Journal
- theatre
- TED-U
- Amazon
- revenue per seat
- Comcast
- Trevor O'Donnell
- Anne Midgette
- L.A. Times
- Pantages
- niche
- U2
- audience
- Great Performance Delusion
- The Police
- baseball