I suppose the big news coming out today was the ‘break-up’ of Brooks & Dunn- but I don’t care about that - other than to say that if the Lord was listening to MY prayers, it would’ve been the big fat redneck stick twirler and his bear killing buddy instead – but what do I know, they’re GOO members now.
No, the big news to me is this video:
It’s Taylor Swift and her band ‘pranking’ Keith Urban at a show the other night. It’s important because the interaction between artists on stage (thanks primarily to Brad what’s his name) has become a common thing. You simply never know what’s going to happen – or rather, what you’re going to see when you go see a show.
In the past we would’ve read a stupid ‘press release’ about something like this happening – it’d be in the newspaper and the rags, but no one would’ve got to see it for themselves – and strangely, reading something like this happening doesn’t have the same ‘punch’ as actually seeing it happen. There’s a tremendous value in seeing it for yourself.
Does that video make you MORE or LESS likely to want to attend a Keith Urban show? MORE or LESS likely to want to see a Taylor Swift show? Don’t you wonder what’s going to happen at the next show? And don’t you want to be there when it does?
Until recently, shows have been as scripted as an episode of Nashville Star – but that’s begun to change. Now shows can take several twist and turns – thereby increasing the entertainment value of the show itself. Honestly, no one wants to be bored – and nothing is more fun for an audience than feeling like a participant in the show itself. Just ask Jimmy Buffett fans!
In Nashville it’s hard to get people to pay $5 to see a live show in a club featuring several acts. But ask those same people to pay $20 to go into a club and dance, and the club will be packed out. Participation is everything.
And shows that have audience participation in them, even if the audience isn’t ‘actually’ participating, but are just there as witnesses to what’s happening – is where the real value to attending a show is.
Kenny Chesney recently put out a ridiculous rule about taking video at his shows — stupid, stupid, STUPID. His crew/label could take a lesson from this and see it as a good thing (though I doubt they will).
The more that others see others having fun at a show, the more those others will want to ‘participate’ by going to the shows themselves the next time around.
(please note: The vid above comes from the official Keith Urban youtube – so this may have simply been a label creation – and the guy filming does sound as if he knows it’s coming – but that doesn’t make it less fun for the audience who don’t… and, Keith is on Capitol – and Capitol may get the value of fan created videos – who knows.)
