Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: The Experience Economy and Live Entertainment Entrepreneurship.Recently, I saw one of my favorite live bands, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Probably best known for their appearance in the movie Swingers back in the mid-’90s and a couple of hits from the brief swing resurgence of the same time, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has eight members, all of whom have...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: How to Allow “True Fans” to Buy Tickets First.In the olden days, if you wanted a ticket to a hot concert, the best way to secure one was to camp out overnight, usually outside a record store*, so as to be in line when the tickets went on sale. Sure, you got a pretty lousy ticket, but at...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: Live Rules! (But Don’t Get Cocky).I used to have to convince people that live performance was the leading category in the entertainment business, but I hardly have to do that anymore. This is especially true in music, where it doesn’t take an expert to see that sales of recordings are sad and not due to rebound to past...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: Whenever Someone Says Modern Sports Is All About TV …Whenever someone says modern sports is all about TV … ask them why nobody’s watching this year’s World Series [October 2014 ] on TV, but people are still filling stadiums at very high prices.As of this writing, TV ratings for Games 1, 2 and 3 of the 2014 World...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: Everything’s easy when it’s not your problem.Imagine you’re heading to the airport. It’s going to be a long line to check-in, a long wait at the gate, and a long, crowded flight. Not only that, but at the end of that flight is a connection … and then another wait at the gate, another long crowded flight. And...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: The Big 3: Horse Racing, Boxing and Baseball.Sometimes it’s worth stepping back and realizing how much time changes things. That’s not true just because it’s interesting and enlightening to do so, but because it can also be inspiring. It’s a reminder that not only can things change, but that they certainly do. Big, immovable, permanent “truths” turn out not...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: What Does a Ticket Really Get You?Most of the people who are reading this post sell tickets, and we even talk about the Ticket Business. But I’ve always believed that the ticket is the last thing we should be talking about, and the last thing buyers actually care about. Nobody, outside the odd collector, places value on the...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: Why Channels Matter: The Golden Eggs.For live entertainment and arts, perhaps even more than for most other things, channels matter.What do I mean by a channel? In nature, a channel is a waterway or a clear and navigable path through the sea. In broadcasting or in marketing, that definition became somewhat more metaphorical, as a TV “channel” is...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: The Future Is a Niche Market, Part III. [This article was originally published in 2008.]When I was a kid (not that long ago, sorta), roller derby was in its waning days as mainstream television fare. It never made the networks, but every local station had straight-faced broadcasts of tough, serious men and REALLY tough women skating around the...

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Looking for a little #WednesdayWisdom? We’re pulling out past stories that are still just as relevant today. Here’s a pearl from Jim: The Future Is a Niche Market, Part II. [This article was originally published in 2009.]A recent USA Today article gives a nice overview of how “non-major” sports leagues (like professional lacrosse, women’s soccer and arena football) are doing. Here’s a fairly representative snippet:“While a few big-league teams defy the economic logic of the times — take the New...

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