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It's beginning to not look a lot like Kissmas

C

ckg279

For the first time in many years, WKSE(Kiss 98.5)will not hold their annual Kissmas Bash this December at KeyBank Center. A post on their Twitter account got right to the point: "Due to scheduling conflicts with the quality of artists our listeners have come to expect, we will not be holding Kissmas Bash in 2019. We expect to return in 2020."

I've heard all sorts of stuff regarding this matter: Entercom didn't have it in the budget, etc. Even James Kurdziel of rival 103.3 the Edge weighed in(AND he had some kind words for the Kiss staff): "Maybe....they're taking a year off from the show because it's what's in the best interest of their brand long-term. Maybe there's nothing more to it than that." He adds that Star 102.5 NEVER does holiday shows, but did this year(with Buffalo's own Goo Goo Dolls headlining)and it sold out quick. I'd also add that Alternative Buffalo has The Kerfuffle Before Christmas over two nights, AND the Edge just did the HRVST show.

The odd thing is that fellow Entercom top 40 WPXY in Rochester, who ALSO has done a holiday show in the past, doesn't have one for this year.

So....any thoughts?
 
Just couldn't work a deal. There's likely more truth to their statement than not. It also points to the state of CHR and what's in the music pipeline, radio station promotion budgets and label buy-in, or lack of such.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Just couldn't work a deal. There's likely more truth to their statement than not. It also points to the state of CHR and what's in the music pipeline, radio station promotion budgets and label buy-in, or lack of such.
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Sadly, I fear you may be right. Moving forward, stations might have to go with 2 or 3 artists/bands for a holiday show. Not 6. (Unless you're in one of the major markets and can afford to do this every year, i.e. Z 100 in New York-granted, they have artists on their lineup that would NEVER play a show like Kissmas Bash.)
 
ckg279 said:
Sadly, I fear you may be right. Moving forward, stations might have to go with 2 or 3 artists/bands for a holiday show. Not 6. (Unless you're in one of the major markets and can afford to do this every year, i.e. Z 100 in New York-granted, they have artists on their lineup that would NEVER play a show like Kissmas Bash.)
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Even in the major markets the conglomerates are booking the same show into multiple cities so maybe there weren’t enough close markets to justify a single show.
 
Doing a local concert is exceedingly tough. In Dayton, OH K99.1 did the free "Day in the Country" for years. With new venues competing for the same artists, and a big country festival 30 miles north, there was no practical way to continue.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Seasoned Buffalo News rock critic Jeff Miers offers an objective perspective that points to the power and heft of iHeart, the 600 pound gorilla in the room. iHeart isn't going to cede one foot of ground in this arena. So it's all together fair to ask, "For companies like Entercom that compete with iHeart: Will there be a next year?"
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Interesting article but I think he overstates the influence of iHeart, especially since iHeart has no stations in Buffalo. These kinds of things are more a function of the local market and the station than the corporate ownership. Comparing Buffalo with Boston or New York City is unfair. Entercom just recently held a very successful concert event in Detroit. If one wants to look at a company that's growing in the event space, it's TownSquare. So I think it's wrong to attribute this to iHeart.
 
TheBigA said:
So I think it's wrong to attribute this to iHeart.
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Not reaelly. iHeart went through all this RIFfing and consolidation a decade ago and now ETM is doing the same. They were the first to hold single-lineup shows between markets so ETM may follow suit.

Totally agree with your TSM assessment - maybe being a smaller group has an advantage.
 
TheBigA said:
But that has nothing to do with this particular event in Buffalo.
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You make a point, but maybe it DOES have an impact as it relates to scheduling on two levels. If iHeart is siphoning prime and secondary-support acts for multiple concert dates, it makes scheduling difficult in a (hockey town) market like Buffalo where the Sabres have first rights to the facility which they also happen to own.
 
Rob Piotrowski said:
Not reaelly. iHeart went through all this RIFfing and consolidation a decade ago and now ETM is doing the same. They were the first to hold single-lineup shows between markets so ETM may follow suit.

Totally agree with your TSM assessment - maybe being a smaller group has an advantage.
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A smaller group does not have an advantage.

The large broadcasters, from iHearrt to Univision to Townsquare have found that events are very profitable, particularly the multiple artist events that have become more common.

The problem is that the lure of profits by radio operators has increased the demand for the artists in each format, so there are many stations and groups vying for a relatively small number of artists. And if a station goes for "B" list artists... the ones that can't do a major tour on their own... they have the logistics of needing 3 , 4 or even 6 of those artists to make a decent ticket.

That is where the groups win. An artist may have a weekend available, so the group does three concerts within a short flying distance and spreads the cost around. The local station can't handle the logistics, and does not have the power to be included in a regular tour without working with the tour promoter and, thus, losing the desired profit.

And the multi-artist "A" list events will be done by the major groups in one city but with group-wide promotion, ticket winners, and, in many cases, lots of streaming revenue to be had.

This is not about "riffing". Concerts are generally big money makers for stations or groups, and we will see many more of them.
 
Rusty Bridges said:
If iHeart is siphoning prime and secondary-support acts for multiple concert dates, it makes scheduling difficult in a (hockey town) market like Buffalo where the Sabres have first rights to the facility which they also happen to own.
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That's always an issue, not just this year, and why it behooves everyone to plan early. But as I said, bookings for these things are done locally, not at the corporate level.

DavidEduardo said:
And the multi-artist "A" list events will be done by the major groups in one city but with group-wide promotion, ticket winners, and, in many cases, lots of streaming revenue to be had.
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There's some of that going on, but this is usually handled by the label promotion department. Each station, if its a currents-based station as Kiss is, deals directly with a regional promo person, and should be planning these kinds of things throughout the year.
 
TheBigA said:
Interesting article but I think he overstates the influence of iHeart, especially since iHeart has no stations in Buffalo. These kinds of things are more a function of the local market and the station than the corporate ownership. Comparing Buffalo with Boston or New York City is unfair. Entercom just recently held a very successful concert event in Detroit. If one wants to look at a company that's growing in the event space, it's TownSquare. So I think it's wrong to attribute this to iHeart.
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Re iHeart not being in Buffalo: True. However, go down the I-90 either way and you'll run into them. Erie recently saw the Connoisseur cluster(including CHR Star 104)come into the iHeart portfolio, and Rochester has had iHeart there for years.
 
And Townsquare was mentioned; up here in Buffalo, WYRK has run the Taste of Country at Sahlen Field(aka the downtown ballpark; that's the CURRENT name)for nearly 2 decades. I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. (I should also note that I work that event every year, since one of my employers is the team that plays baseball there. And, yes, it's as hectic as you'd think it is.)
 
ckg279 said:
Re iHeart not being in Buffalo: True. However, go down the I-90 either way and you'll run into them. Erie recently saw the Connoisseur cluster(including CHR Star 104)come into the iHeart portfolio, and Rochester has had iHeart there for years.
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Any of those clusters hosting a big-star Christmas concert this year?
 
TheBigA said:
There's some of that going on, but this is usually handled by the label promotion department. Each station, if its a currents-based station as Kiss is, deals directly with a regional promo person, and should be planning these kinds of things throughout the year.
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There is certainly a move to make the events themselves part of the station or group revenue streams. This means, unless the label has a 360 deal, working with artist management and creating the even entirely within the broadcast realm.

The group/station may or may not have event management staff. If they don't, they hire a per-show event manager and they do everything from booking the hall to following the individual artist riders and complying with venue requirements as well as getting sound, lighting and the rest.

This can be a full profit center, and as such only peripherally deals with the label and the label promotion people.

Or, the events can be co-produced with existing promoters on a profit share basis.

The difference is that, going way back, stations looked at these events as audience promotions only and tried to get the talent for free or minimums. Now, with ad revenue declining, many stations and groups look at concerts as profit centers on their own. It's no longer just about selling a sponsorship to a client, it's ticket sales, merchandise, and related revenue.
 
TheBigA said:
That's always an issue, not just this year, and why it behooves everyone to plan early. But as I said, bookings for these things are done locally, not at the corporate level.
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According to two legacy sales reps and PD, planning for the following year usually begins after the show ends. A full assessment is done on all levels including programming, promotions, sales and engineering. A wish-list is put together, including dates and artists for the following year. Dates are subject to the NHL-Sabres schedule. Within a few months a slate of *potential and available* artists/groups is assembled and the negotiations with the local reps and labels get serious. Only after the NHL releases the Sabres schedule can a date be finalized and the package be approved. It's the *potential and available* that pose the biggest challenge. Every label thinks their acts are A-List. Every act thinks it's A-List. The Sabres are always A-List. They control the arena and the stadium, and exercise final approval, much like the baseball stadium which was built with taxpayer money but is controlled by the minor league baseball Bisons and the Rich Corporation. The baseball stadium lease has been called by more than a few politicians at all levels and all political persuasions, "the sweetest tenant stadium lease deal in America." This is probably more the rule than the exception in every city in America that has a facility that houses a major or minor sports team, but it has some connection to the thread because Entercom also owns Sports Talk WGR, which has at times in the past nettled the Pegula Sports Group, owners of the Sabres and Bills. There have been times when WGR has made dealing with sports ownership a bit challenging for its sister station. There are a lot of egos to be massaged and backs to be scratched.
 
TheBigA said:
It can be, but my sense is this Christmas show has been more about charity and promotion than profit.
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Kiss and Entercom often tie in with a charitable organization as a beneficiary and do an admirable job of it, but your "sense" in this particular case is incorrect. It's very much about revenue, and understandably so.
 
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