Live Nation’s new venue could give your favorite band more options when it comes to playing in San Diego. But it probably won’t help you much as a consumer.
The entertainment giant announced Aug. 17 that it’ll be converting San Diego’s old Wonder Bread factory located on the outskirts of East Village. Just days before the announcement, the independent venue Brick by Brick closed its doors and the Bancroft in East County announced it would do the same.
But on the whole, those in the industry say San Diego has a relatively healthy music venue ecosystem, though cost-wise, like everywhere else, it has become more challenging for fans. The proposed Live Nation site, though, fills one particular gap.
In downtown alone, there are six live music venues, not counting symphony halls and bars that invite artists to play. Four of these — The Quartyard, the Casbah, Music Box and the Rady Shell — are independent. Gallagher Square and the House of Blues are the other two corporate venues.
Justin Navalle is a managing partner at the Quartyard, Tim Mays is behind the Casbah and Joe Rinaldi helps run the Music Box. They all said they’re not fazed by Live Nation’s announcement, in terms of what it means for their own businesses. But they do question what it means for the consumer.
Another player in town
A new music venue in San Diego means more live music in San Diego. With this particular venue coming in at 4000 seats, it presents an opportunity for certain artists – those who might not be able to sell out the Rady Shell on their own, but are too big for the House of Blues.
This new mid-sized capacity, Rinaldi said, could be a good thing for everyone else in town. As he sees it, it creates more opportunities for artists to grow their audiences.
“Maybe more people will play Music Box because they want to be in the game in this market,” he said.
“Before you’d have to jump from basically 1500 [seats] all the way up to 6000 in this market until you’re at Open Air or Rady, and that doesn’t happen organically. That generally happens through being carried on other people’s tours.”
The prospect of growth for independent venues in San Diego is a bright spot. Operating an independent venue, all three say, has never been easy, but it was particularly challenging in the wake of COVID.
Consumer behavior has shifted in notable ways. For one, Mays said, people don’t really purchase walk-up tickets anymore. Most tickets sold are in advance. His best guess as to why: People are tightening their belts as virtually everything gets more expensive.
All three operators said that over the past couple of years, the percentage of people not showing up for a show after buying a ticket has noticeably gone up, too. Navalle and Rinaldi attribute the issue to online ticket scalpers and how they have used search engine optimization tools to appear before concert venues in search results when someone looks up a show. Regardless, it hurts their bottom line with fewer people to spend money at concessions and merchandise tables.
The cost of opportunity
Navalle believes, particularly when it comes to venue sizes introduced into town, growth shouldn’t be stopped. But by nature of Live Nation’s business model, he fears that despite the new opportunities the venue will create, others will shrink.
“It’s the rules that [Live Nation] plays by that concern me the most,” he said.
“It’s not an equal playing field when an independent venue can’t even bid on the same artist because there’s a blackout rule and when agencies won’t really work with you because they have a relationship with these larger companies,” Navalle said.
In April a federal jury in New York found Live Nation, along with its parent company Ticketmaster, to be a monopoly due to inflating ticket prices for consumers and snuffing out competition. Particularly through practices like requiring artists to sign exclusive contracts, not allowing them to work with other venues, in order to play at Live Nation’s own venues. At this time the verdict hasn’t led to any material changes in how the company conducts its business.
Regardless, people want to see their favorite bands.
“They’re gouging you on merch. They’re gouging you on resale tickets. They’re gouging you on parking. They’re gouging you on concessions. They vertically own everything. And you know, I’m still gonna go see Thee Sacred Souls [at Gallagher Square] tomorrow,” Navalle said of the San Diego band’s Aug. 28 show.
“Even your favorite artists are kind of wrapped up in this whole thing,” he added.
Mays sees it the same.here’s not really a choice for the consumer once you get to a venue equal to or larger than the proposed Wonder Bread spot.
“If they really like an act, they’ve got to bite the bullet. And, people do,” Mays said.
