#so now. we will officially be going 2 melbourne for taylor

[kurthorton-moving]

flights and accommodation 2 melbourne..... Booked

[midnightsslut]

Taylor Swift Tours Masterpost

Hey everyone! For absolutely no reason at all, I’ve decided to compile a masterpost of all the regular setlists, surprise songs, covers, and guests on Taylor’s tours with links to YouTube videos when available (I’m only including videos that weren’t featured in official tour movies). I’ve noticed that, although there are posts like this for specific tours, like Red or reputation, some of this information is pretty hard to find, and it might be useful to some to have it all in one place. Also, I’m something of a Taylor Swift live performance ~connoisseur (💀), so I thought I might share. :) Here we go

Note: This is only part one. I don’t know when the posts for Red, 1989, and reputation will be up.

Part One: Fearless & Speak Now

Fearless Tour (April 23, 2009-July 10, 2010)

This tour did not feature a ‘surprise song slot,’ but she did sometimes change the setlist up a bit. She also brought out a couple of surprise guests (most notably John Mayer and Katy Perry), but not nearly as many as she did on her later tours.

Regular setlist: Fearless Tour

1. ‘You Belong with Me’

2. ‘Our Song’

3. ‘Tell Me Why’

4. ‘Teardrops on My Guitar’

5. ‘Fearless’

6. ‘Forever & Always’

7. ‘Hey Stephen’

8. ‘Fifteen’

9. ‘Tim McGraw’

10. ‘White Horse’ (x)

11. ‘Love Story’

12. ‘The Way I Loved You’ (x)

13. ‘You’re Not Sorry’ / ‘What Goes Around… Comes Around’ (x)

14. ‘Picture to Burn’

15. ‘Change’ (x)

16. ‘I’m Only Me When I’m with You’ (2009) (x) OR ‘Today Was a Fairytale’ (2010)

17. ‘Should’ve Said No’ (extended version)

Footnotes:

*Starting from the show in Uncasville, Connecticut on August 28, 2009, ‘Change’ was removed from the setlist. It was added back in Greensville, South Carolina on September 4, 2009. Starting from the show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 1, 2009, it was removed again.

*European shows on the 2009 leg often removed ‘I’m Only Me When I’m with You’ as well as ‘Change.’

*Starting from the show in Brisbane, Australia on February 4, 2010, ‘Today Was a Fairytale’ replaced ‘I’m Only Me When I’m with You’ in the encore.

Surprise songs:

1. ‘The Best Day’ - Evansville, Indiana (April 23, 2009) Note: This was actually the first show of the tour. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a video of this performance.

2. ‘Two Is Better Than One’ - Brisbane, Australia (February 4, 2010) (x)

3. ‘The Best Day’ - Moline, Illinois (May 8, 2010) (x)

4. ‘Jump Then Fall’ - Foxborough, Massachusetts (June 5, 2010) (x)

Surprise guest performances:

1. ‘Your Body is a Wonderland’ and ‘White Horse’ (already part of the regular acoustic set but performed as a duet here) with John Mayer - Los Angeles, CA (May 22, 2009) (x)

2. ‘The Way You Love Me’ with Faith Hill - Nashville, TN (September 12, 2009) (x)

3. ‘Hot N Cold’ with Katy Perry - Los Angeles, CA (April 15, 2010)

Speak Now World Tour (February 9, 2011-March 18, 2012)

Regular setlists:

Eurasia (February 9, 2011-March 30, 2011)

Note: All of the performances linked below are from the Eurasian leg. Therefore, their quality is questionable. I’m only including these because this leg had a slightly different wardrobe than the North American leg which was recorded for the tour movie. I’m not including videos from performances where the costume is the same.

1. ‘Sparks Fly’

2. ‘Mine’

3. ‘The Story of Us’

4. ‘Back to December’ / ‘Apologize’ / ‘You’re Not Sorry’ (x)

5. ‘Better Than Revenge’ (x)

6. ‘Speak Now’

7. ‘Fearless’ / ‘I’m Yours’ / ‘Hey, Soul Sister’

8. ‘Fifteen’ (x)

9. ‘You Belong with Me’

10. ‘Dear John’ (x) - I’m only including this video because she wore her hair loose lol

11. ‘Enchanted’ (x)

12. ‘Long Live’ (x)

13. ‘Love Story’ (x)

North America & Oceania (May 21, 2011-March 18, 2012)

This is based solely on the first North American show

1. ‘Sparks Fly’

2. ‘Mine’

3. ‘The Story of Us’

4. ‘Our Song’

5. ‘Mean’

6. ‘Back to December’ / ‘Apologize’ / ‘You’re Not Sorry’

7. ‘Better Than Revenge’

8. ‘Speak Now’

9. ‘Fearless’ / ‘I’m Yours’ / ‘Hey, Soul Sister’

10. ‘Last Kiss’

11. ‘You Belong with Me’

12. ‘Dear John’

13. ‘Enchanted’

14. ‘Haunted’

15. ‘Long Live’

16. ‘Fifteen’

17. ‘Love Story’

Notes:

Starting from the show in Toronto, Canada on July 15, 2011, Taylor started playing acoustic covers right after her performance of ‘Last Kiss.’

Starting from the show in Denver, CO, on September 27, 2011, ‘Ours’ was added to the encore, right before the performance of ‘Fifteen’. This marked the live debut of the song. If Taylor had a surprise guest, this was the song she would usually cut from the setlist.

Starting from the show in Perth, Australia on March 2, 2012, ‘Safe & Sound’ (x) was added to the encore. ‘Ours’ (x) was shifted to the acoustic set and was played right before ‘Last Kiss.’ It was only skipped at the show in Auckland on March 17. I’m including a video because, although the performance from the encore was featured in the tour movie, this version takes place on the B-stage and has a different costume (the purple Susan Hilferty dress she wore for half the show lol).

At the shows in Melbourne, Australia on March 12, 2012 and Auckland, New Zealand on March 16, 2012, ‘Fearless’ was skipped.

Surprise covers:

1. ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi - Newark, NJ (July 19, 2011) (x)

2. ‘Dancing in the Dark’ by Bruce Springsteen / ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi - Newark, NJ (July 20 & 24, 2011) (x), (x)

3. ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’ by the Dixie Chicks - Newark, NJ (July 23, 2011) (x)

4. ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem and ‘Smile’ by Uncle Kracker’ - Grand Rapids, MI (July 28, 2011) (x)

5. ‘Jack & Diane’ by John Mallencamp and ‘I Want You Back’ by the Jackson 5 - Indianapolis, IN (July 29, 2011) (x), (x)

Note: ‘I Want You Back’ was featured on the Speak Now World Tour Live CD. The second link will direct you to the audio.

6. ‘I Try’ by Macy Gray and ‘My Wish’ by the Rascal Flatts - Cleveland, OH (July 30, 2011) (x)

7. ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ by Gladys Knight & the Pips and ‘Ghetto Superstar’ by Mya - Washington, DC (August 2, 2011) (x)

8. ‘Stay (I Missed You)’ by Lisa Loeb and ‘A Sorta Fairytale’ by Tori Amos - Washington, DC (August 3, 2011) (x)

9. ‘Who Knew’ by P!nk and ‘Unpretty’ by TLC - Philadelphia, PA (August 6, 2011) (x)

10. ‘Sugar, We’re Goin Down’ by Fall Out Boy - Rosemont, IL (August 9-10, 2011) (x)

11. ‘Just a Dream’ by Nelly - St Louis, MO (August 13-14, 2011) (x)

12. ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys and ‘Sweet Escape’ by Gwen Stefani - Los Angeles, CA (August 23-24, 2011) (x), (x)

Note: ‘Sweet Escape’ was featured as a bonus track on the Target deluxe version of the Speak Now World Tour Live CD. The second link will direct you to the audio.

13. ‘This Love’ by Maroon 5 and Bette Davis Eyes’ by Jackie DeShannon - Los Angeles, CA (August 27, 2011) (x), (x)

Note: ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ was featured on the Speak Now World Tour Live CD. The second link will direct you to the audio.

14. ‘Realize’ by Colbie Caillat’ - Los Angeles, CA (August 28, 2011) (x)

15. ‘Drops of Jupiter’ by Train - San Jose, CA (September 1, 2011) (x)

Note: ‘Drops of Jupiter’ was included in the Speak Now World Tour concert movie. An audio was also featured on the standard CD.

16. ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ by Green Day - San Jose, CA (September 2, 2011) (x)

17. ‘Untouchable’ by Luna Halo - Sacramento, CA (September 3, 2011) (x)

18. ‘Closer to Love’ by Matt Kearney - Portland, OR (September 6, 2011) (x)

19. ‘You & Me’ by Dave Matthews Band - Tacoma, WA (September 7, 2011) (x)

20. ‘Nashville’ by David Mead - Nashville, TN (September 16-17, 2011) (x), (x)

Note: ‘Nashville’ was featured as a bonus track on the Target deluxe version of the Speak Now World Tour Live CD. The second link will direct you to the audio. PS: This is one of my favorite covers she’s ever done.

21. ‘Lucky’ by Britney Spears - Bossier City, LA (September 20, 2011) (x)

22. ‘Swing, Swing’ by The All-American Rejects - Tulsa, OK (September 21, 2011) (x)

23. ‘How to Save a Life’ by The Fray - Denver, CO (September 27, 2011) (x)

24. ‘Animal’ by The Neon Trees - Salt Lake City, UT (September 28, 2011) (x)

25. ‘Baby Girl’ by Sugarland - Atlanta, GA (October 1-2, 2011) (x)

26. ‘Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You’ by Brooks & Dunn - North Little Rock, AR (October 4, 2011) (x)

27. ‘Breathless’ by Better Than Ezra - New Orleans, LA (October 5, 2011) (x)

28. ‘Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley - Dallas, TX (October 8, 2011) (x)

29. ‘The Back of Your Hand’ by Dwight Yoakam - Louisville, KY (October 11, 2011) (x)

30. ‘Wide Open Spaces’ by The Dixie Chicks - Lubbock, TX (October 14, 2011) (x)

31. ‘What Hurts the Most’ by Jeffrey Steele - Oklahoma City, OK (October 15, 2011) (x)

32. ‘Dare You to Move’ by Switchfoot - San Diego, CA (October 20, 2011) (x)

33. ‘No Parade’ by Jordin Sparks - Glendale, AZ (October 21, 2011) (x)

34. ‘You Learn’ by Alanis Morissette, ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber, and ‘She’s So High by Tal Bachman (all played in succession along with ‘You Belong with Me’) - Toronto, Canada (July 15, 2011) (x)

35. ‘Complicated’ by Avril Lavigne, ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber, and ‘I’m Like a Bird’ by Nelly Furtado - Toronto, Canada (July 16, 2011) (x), (x), (x)

Note: She only played excerpts from each song. A full video isn’t available.

36. ‘Complicated’ by Carolyn Dawn Johnson - Edmonton, Canada (August 18, 2011) (x)

37. ‘Summer of 69’ by Bryan Adams - Vancouver, Canada (September 10, 2011) (x)

38. ‘Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)’ by Alan Jackson - Vancouver, Canada (September 11, 2011) (x)

39. ‘All You Wanted’ by Michelle Branch - Glendale AZ, (October 22, 2011) & San Antonio, TX (October 25, 2011) (x)

40. ‘Run’ by George Strait - San Antonio, TX (October 26, 2011) (x)

41. ‘Hold On’ by Jack Ingram - Memphis, TN (October 30, 2011) (x) (skip to 21:46; this video includes all the Speak Now Tour covers)

42. ‘Cry Me a River’ by Justin Timberlake - New York, NY (November 21, 2011) (x)

Surprise guests:

1. ‘Baby’ with Justin Bieber - Los Angeles, CA (August 23, 2011) (x)

2. ‘I’m Yours’ with Jason Mraz - Los Angeles, CA (August 24, 2011) (x)

3. ‘Tonight, Tonight’ with Hot Chelle Rae - Los Angeles, CA (August 27, 2011), (x)

4. ‘Super Bass’ with Nicki Minaj - Los Angeles, CA (August 28, 2011) (x)

5. ‘That’s What You Get’ with Hayley Williams - Nashville, TN (September 16, 2011) (x)

6. ‘Bleed Red’ with Ronnie Dunn - Nashville, TN (September 16, 2011) (x)

7. ‘Big Star’ with Kenny Chesney - Nashville, TN (September 17, 2011) (x)

8. ‘Keep Your Head Up’ with Andy Grammer - Nashville, TN (September 17, 2011) (x)

9. ‘Just to See You Smile’ with Tim McGraw - Nashville, TN (September 17, 2011) (x)

10. ‘Yeah!’ with Usher - Atlanta, GA (October 1, 2011) (x)

11. ‘Live Your Life’ with T.I. - Atlanta, GA (October 2, 2011) (x)

12. ‘Meant to Live’ with Jon Foreman - Glendale, AZ (October 21, 2011) (x)

13. ‘She’s So High’ with Tal Bachman - Vancouver, Canada (September 10, 2011) (x)

14. ‘The Middle’ with Jim Adkins - Glendale, AZ (October 22, 2011) (x)

15. ‘Just a Dream’ with Nelly - Houston, TX (November 5, 2011) (x)

16. ‘Right Round’ with Flo Rida - Miami, FL (November 13, 2011) (x)

17. ‘Alright’ with Darius Rucker - Columbia, SC (November 18, 2011) (x)

18. ‘Who Says’ with Selena Gomez - New York, NY (November 22, 2011) (x)

19. ‘Fire and Rain’ and ‘Fifteen’ (part of the regular setlist but performed as a duet here) with James Taylor - New York, NY (November 22, 2011) (x)

Surprise songs.

1. ‘Superman’ - Kansas City, MO (September 24, 2011) (x)

Note: This is the only live performance of ‘Superman’ to date. The video begins with an excerpt of her ‘Last Kiss’ performance, so you’ll have to skip to circa 1:30, but unlike other recordings, it’s complete. This is six minutes of pure joy.

2. ‘Never Grow Up’ - Lexington, KY (October 29, 2011), Houston, TX (November 5, 2011), Raleigh, NC (November 17, 2011) (x)

3. ‘Eyes Open’ - Auckland, New Zealand (March 17, 2012) (x)

Note: This marked the live debut of the song, as it had not even been released at the time of the performance.

[spookyspemilyreid]

Happy Anniversary Self Titled!❤(April 5, 2013)

Paramore is the self-titled fourth studio album by American rock band Paramore. It was released on April 5, 2013, through Fueled by Ramen as a follow-up to Brand New Eyes (2009). It is their first full-length album released after the departure of co-founders Josh and Zac Farro in 2010. Recorded between April and November 1, 2012, the album was described by the band as being a "statement" and a reintroduction of the band to the world and to themselves. It is the only album without Zac Farro on drums, and the final album recorded with bassist Jeremy Davis before he left the band in 2015.

The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, with lead guitarist Taylor York co-producing on four tracks. In contrast to band's previous work, the production of Paramore contains the band's experimentation with new musical genres, such as new wave and funk rock, and features three acoustic interludes. Paramore received acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's maturity and experimentation in terms of musicianship as well as Williams' vocals and overall presence on the album. Several publications included the album in their year-end lists, including The A.V. Club and The Guardian.

Paramore was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 106,000 copies. The album also topped the charts in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, and New Zealand, where it became their first album to reach the summit. It also became their second chart topper in the United Kingdom. In March 2016, Paramore was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales exceeding 1,000,000. The group followed the record release with The Self-Titled Tour in promotion, with European, North American, Asian, Latin American, and Oceania legs announced. In 2014, Fall Out Boy and Paramore co-headlined Monumentour. A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 24, 2014.

The recording of Paramore began in April 2012 with the song "Daydreaming". After a brief pause, recording resumed on June 27 of that year and ended on November 1, 2012. It is the first Paramore album released after the departure of Josh Farro and Zac Farro, both of whom left the band in 2010.

The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, longtime bassist for Beck and Nine Inch Nails, who has previously produced records for M83 and Neon Trees. In an interview with Electronic Musician, Meldal-Johnsen stated he wanted "the album to sound very visceral and a little bit less locked down and computerized, more 1981 than 2012, with a nod to 2016." In an interview with Digital Spy, Taylor York stated "I don't think we've ever been so proud and satisfied with something we've done." On June 29, 2012, the band had confirmed that former Nine Inch Nails and current Angels & Airwaves drummer Ilan Rubin would be recording drums for the album. 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, lead vocalist Hayley Williams explained "That whole time for our band was such a dark season. It was emotionally exhausting, and by the time we got around to the point where we were going to start writing, we just really wanted to enjoy the process of making an album..." when asked about the direction of the band after Brand New Eyes. Regarding the album being self-titled, Williams explained "The self-titled aspect of the whole thing is definitely a statement. I feel like it's not only reintroducing the band to the world, but even to ourselves ... By the end of it, it felt like we're a new band." She also stated that she was inspired by Blondie's and Siouxsie and the Banshees' records when writing the new songs: "They’ve got so much heart and soul in them." 

On December 6, 2012, Paramore made an announcement through their official website revealing the name of the album and the release date as well as the name of the first single from the album. The track list was announced on January 18, 2013 by Alternative Press. During the 2013 Soundwave Festival, Paramore held a listening party in Sydney, New South Wales on February 26, 2013, followed by Melbourne, Victoria two days later, run by Australian Music Channel, Channel V. ]Williams revealed a section of the lyrics for the song 'Part II' which the winners were able to hear at the listening parties on a LiveJournal post. Williams told fans that "'Let The Flames Begin' has been a favorite of ours to play live, as well as being a favorite of most people who come out to our shows.... We wanted it to have a sequel. 'Part II' it is!"

The vinyl version of the album was streamed beginning on April 1, 2013 for four days, with each day playing one of the four sides. The album was then officially released on April 5, 2013. The band played an acoustic version of "Hate to See Your Heart Break" on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on April 3, 2013, announcing that on the same night, the full song would be premiered on their official website. On April 20, 2013, the band released an EP for Record Store Day, titled The Holiday Sessions, released exclusively on a 7" vinyl, and is composed of the three interludes from this album. A music video for "Anklebiters" was released on June 25, 2013. The song, however, was not released as a single.

The Self-Titled Tour in North America took place from October 15 to November 27, 2013. The Self-Titled Tour takes the band through 27 cities across North America, including Paramore's first headline show at Madison Square Garden. On August 22, 2013, the band announced their own cruise, called the "PARAHOY! Cruise", sailing from Miami to the Bahamas and back on board the Norwegian Pearl, which took place from March 7 to March 11, 2014. On January 9, 2014, the band, along with Fall Out Boy, announced a co-headlining North American summer tour dubbed, "Monumentour", which took place from June 19 through August 31, 2014. On January 22, 2015, Paramore announced "Writing The Future", a round of small shows across the United States, closing out the Paramore touring cycle. It lasted from April 27 to May 25, 2015.

On January 5, 2013, Paramore released a teaser of the lead single "Now", revealing a snippet of the song and the release date of the single, which was January 22, 2013. Paramore streamed the song on their website January 21, and the song was then made available for sale along with an album pre-order through iTunes the next day. In the UK, "Now" was instead released January 24, 2013. The music video for "Now" was directed by Daniel "Cloud" Campos and premiered live on MTV on February 11. It was uploaded onto YouTube the next day.

The album's second single, "Still Into You", was released on March 14, 2013. A lyric video for "Still Into You" was uploaded to YouTube a day earlier, after the band performed it live for the first time at the 2013 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. On September 18, 2013, "Still Into You" was certified 'platinum' by the RIAA. "Daydreaming" serves as the third single from the album. It was released on December 2, 2013 only in the UK. The music video premiered in November 5 on the UK MSN. 

"Ain't It Fun" is the fourth single from the album. The radio edit premiered August 28, 2013, and the single was released on February 4, 2014. A music video for the song was planned, but was put on hold in favor of a music video for "Daydreaming", also, as informed by Williams, the band was unhappy with how the video was turning out; A new video for "Ain't It Fun" was shot and premiered on January 29, 2014. "Ain't It Fun" then received the award for Best Rock Song at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, a first for the band as this was their first Grammy win. On June 18, 2014, "Ain't It Fun" was certified platinum by the RIAA and then on July 8, 2015, double platinum. Shortly after, "Still Into You" received double platinum certification as well from the RIAA.

Though not released as a single, the band felt a special connection with the song "Anklebiters" and released a music video for it on April 5, 2013.

"Hate to See Your Heart Break" was re-recorded in 2014 to feature Joy Williams on vocals for inclusion on the deluxe edition of the album. A black-and-white video for the song premiered November 24, 2014. It reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

The album has been a major commercial success worldwide, debuting at number one in eight countries including the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia (where it was the eighth consecutive number one debut on the chart and also the 32nd self-titled album to top the Australian chart). The album also peaked within the top 20 of 9 other countries. In the US, the album debuted at number 1, with first week sales of 106,000 copies. This marks the first Paramore album to reach the top spot on the chart.

"Still Into You" charted within the top 10 in Australia and Ireland and reached the top 20 in several others. The single topped the UK rock chart and peaked at number 14 in the singles chart, thus becoming the band's second highest charting single in that country, behind "Ignorance" from the band's previous album Brand New Eyes. In the US, the song peaked at number 24, matching "The Only Exception" from the same album as the band's highest charting single at the time. It also peaked at number 6 in the US Rock Chart and number 8 in the US Mainstream Top 40. "Ain't It Fun" shared similar success, charting within the top 10 in Canada and Hungary. It eventually became Paramore's best selling single to date in the US, charting at number ten in the Billboard 100, number 2 in the US Mainstream Top 40 and number 1 the US Rock Chart and Adult Top 40. The single marks the first time a Paramore song has reached the Top 10 in the US.

[ofnailbatsandaxefives]

it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but in preparation of s5 here’s a giant post about the The 100 panel at Wonder Con

Before the panel they played the first 15 minutes of S5. No spoilers, but it reminds us just how good Eliza Taylor is

Then they announced the moderator of the panel. King Roan himself, Zach McGowan

Chris came out with a plate of celery? It looked like celery. I would expect nothing less.

For each panelist Zach had his own question as well as one provided for him about season 5.

Zach's personal question for Jason - "Why'd you kill Roan?"

"Priorities change. Spacekru is a family, on the ground Clarke and Madi are a family, and the bunker is batshit crazy" - Jason when asked if anything has changed when it comes to the notion of tribalism/my people/and the new crews.

Zach - How come everyone gets to grow facial hair but you? 

 Chris (jokingly) - I actually grow the most and have to shave multiple times a day. 

"Space is a bit of respite and peace. I can't imagine he'd want to go back too soon" - Chris when asked what's changed for Monty 

Even if Monty and Harper don't last, Chris hopes that they gave it their best shot.

Lindsey said that Raven always felt like Q (James Bond) to her, and that she feels like in s5 Raven is more of Bellamy's right hand man. She gives her input, but gives it to Bellamy to make the call.

She would be interested to see how Raven would be as a leader "maybe she's bad at public speaking"

Zach continued to ask the hard-hitting questions we're all dying to know the answers to, such as "How long did it take Bellamy to grow that beard in space?"

Bellamy makes sure everyone has a job/routine to help them not lose their sanity up in space.

Richard mentioned that saying "See you on the other side" was all he'd hoped it would be, and added on that the line has even more significance for the show because of Jasper

"Not as a leader...He's just as hard on himself as the audience has been...He might judge himself (in regards to the type of person he became to survive) waking up in the morning isn't always the easiest" - Richard when asked how Murphy sees himself.

Zach officially unbanished Tasya from Azgeda. Now she just needs to find Marie to unbanish her the rest of the way

Friendship in space is a novelty for Echo, and this is the first time she's ever had friends 

SPACEKRU JOBS

Bellamy delegates

 Echo and Emori teach Trig lessons 

Echo teaches fighting 

Monty teaches farming 

Raven teaches Emori

 Murphy doesn't do much 

"I grew my beard out of respect for Roan" - Sachin Sahel 

the one thing Sachin really wanted us to know about the bunker story line is that 'we are not prepared for what we're going to see'

Jarod notes that Miller might have been desensitized early to things like violence and death (going back to s1), but that he got to play vulnerability partly due to love.

Sachin jokes that it's "Terrifying Love"

Jason says there is a merging of minds when it comes to Skai Kru and the grounders, but that "Wonkru is not a good force when they come out"

The Eligius crew is from our time

The fan questions started up, and I realized I have a voice recorder app I can use instead of shorthand speed writing notes  (so from here on out things are more detailed)

Fan 1 - Bellamy and Clarke are my favorite characters of all time, and Bob Morley you are amazing. 

 Bob - aww shucks thank you. 

 Sachin - he is dreamy

 Bob (to Sachin) - no, no continue. Keep talking

Fan 1 (cont'd) - in s4 there were a lot of separations of the major characters, by the end of s5 is it going to be like that where there are more separations or are the main characters going to be coming together and united?

Bob - We obviously can't answer that....Sachin?

 Sachin - so the bunker is terrible

Bob passes the question over to Jason "I think you'll be happy."

---

Fan 2 - Do they keep in touch with any of the former cast, and is it possible to see them come back in some way or another? 

 Zach - Nope. I haven't seen these guys in  so long

Lindsey mentions they keep in touch a lot, and throws the question of coming back over to Jason. 

"Dead on the show is dead, so ultimately it's sad. We have flashback sometimes, so it's always possible, but I can't really specifically say anybody's that's dead will come back." 

Jason - Zach, want to do a flashback to when you were little? 

 Zach - do I get to be a little boy? ... (alters voice to go up a few octaves) this is my little kid voice. 

 Sachin - I'd watch it.

Fan 3 has a request from another fan for Bob to wear his Bears shirt at the con in Melbourne. Which leads to jokes about Bob taking wardrobe requests, and Sachin asking if he can wear the shirt 

Fan 4 - I have a question for SpaceKru, if you guys had free time, what would you guys be doing? We know Bellamy's staring out a window all the time, what else do you do for fun? 

 Lindsey - doing a lot of puzzles  

Tasya (who was talking to Richard) - what were we doing? ... I was busy giving Murphy advice 

Richard - she's become my best friend in space over the years. She's my therapist.

Bob - Jason had mentioned training, I think that Echo and Emori give trig lessons. (to Richard) I'm not sure what you're - I mean I was a janitor, so I can teach...

Lindsey - Murphy gives jerk lessons 

 Richard - that's a low blow... I do what I do. Sometimes I just want to hang out and be by myself... (to Tasya) Echo I need to talk to you right now people are being really mean to me

Jason - a lot of people have sex in space

--

Fan 5 - What's the strangest thing they ever ate on set?

 Lindsey and Tasya - Monty's algae (it was like oatmeal and green juice) 

 Chris - the jello 

 Lindsey - the chip! the chip was like a hard gelatin wafer

---

Fan 6 - the last season we saw how Clarke dealt with you guys being gone (mentions radioing Bellamy) I wanted to know if we would see how Bellamy dealt with this and Raven, cause you guys were close to Clarke, and the original sky crew too

Bob - I kind of feel like he's carrying guilt about leaving Clarke behind. I mean it was Raven's schedule that kind of - 

 Lindsey - It was my fault... Which is why it's even worse that it's taken me 6 yrs to figure out a way to  get back. That's embarrassing

Bob - I think, also, everyone in SpaceKru is kind of dealing with their own form and grief, and I think that being occupied and yoga classes, as Jason put it, and Trig classes have had them not falling too deeply into their own grief

Lindsey - we talked about giving Raven a tattoo and having something for Clarke in it as a memoir 

 Jason - then you chose like the biggest raven bird for your back....it would have taken 18 hrs to do in make up 

 Lindsey - I had other choices too.

Bob - they gave me the blue henley shirt, which you saw Clarke wearing in s1

 Lindsey - oh, so you're wearing her shirt?

 Bob - Well, no, not her shirt exactly, but I always felt like season 1 people in the blue shirts were the good guy, and the black shirts were the bad guys

Lindsey - we actually had a mop that we just set up on the kitchen table and talked to it.

Bob - Monty's obviously grieving and Echo and Emori. I think we're all trying to deal with it, and at the same time trying to stay sane with routine, whether it be mundane or not.

Jason - they're also trying to, I think, honor her for what she gave up to get them to space.

---

Fan 7 (last question) - What was the best improv moment that you had? 

 Lindsey - Not me, it was Devon. Remember when Devon at the beginning of season 4, he slides in, right? He does the Tom Cruise 'Risky Business' slide. It's great. It's great. It was pure Devon

Jarod mentions he and Sachin getting the "too sweet" hand gesture in

Lindsey - I think I bit someone at some point. I think I bit Eliza real one time when we were doing the ALIE thing

Chris - how closely have you watched the pilot? When Jasper lands on the other side I get a little double fist pump in the air. So, in Mt. Weather when I crack the code, in like 2x08, I threw in, like, 7 or 8 fist pumps

[in-her-wildest-dreams]

MY LA SECRET SESSION EXPERIENCE!

Background:

So Taylor’s been following me for over 2 years now and she’s showed up for me somewhat regularly ever since she followed me which I’m incredibly grateful for (like INCREDIBLY). When she did secret sessions last era, I didn’t even have a fan account for anything and I got all the news off insta and my best friends in real life @thislove-brittany and @thosegeorgiastars13 when we would come into school and talk about how some extremely lucky fans got to go into her home and hang with her for hours on end. At that point we all almost had to laugh because we live in Australia and we weren’t known AT ALL by Taylor and we just told ourselves it was such a far fetched dream it was ridiculous… Fast forward a few months later that next year in 2015, when Taylor followed me – I believe to this day she saw a photo of B, G and I posing as Bad Blood characters, and she followed me from that. So basically the first memory I have of Taylor acknowledging my existence was shared with my 2 best friends, but let me now continue with the story….

 On the 1st of January this year, I wrote this post: 

About 4 weeks ago, things at uni went downhill and I had quite literally hit rock bottom in terms of my stress and my future regarding uni. At the same sort of time Taylor had started joining people’s livestreams but she would do so between the hours of 3-7am Australian time so I just kept waking up to her lurking people and watching their lives while I had zero chances in the first place and it was there and then that I thought to myself ‘I’m never meeting her, I have negative hope that I’ll ever meet Taylor” and basically I spent a few days not logging in very much because I was so upset about everything and just didn’t want to bother. But then I started having so many fun events like friends and family birthday parties over those next few weekends and life felt a bit better. During one of those weeks, Taylor had seen 2 or 3 of my tumblr posts where I complimented people’s selfies and it hit me then that good things were still coming and that she still probably maybe had her eye on me (but it was still just wishful thinking). Then London SS happened and my best friend from England, Katy aka @ethereal-swiftness ended up meeting T and I’d sent her an ask about keeping the secret and Taylor saw that a day later and once again I really started to feel things again and it was almost as if right then I knew something was coming for me – like I just knew.

 Getting Contacted by TN

So it was Wednesday morning on the 18th of October, 5.36am, when B and G texted me about 23 times in a row with messages like “EMENME” “CHECK TUMVLT NOW GO DHCIENEONC DO IT CHEJCK IT” “WE GOT THE SMEDSAHE” so naturally I nearly fell out of my bed because yes, in fact, my 2 best friends in real life had both individually received a confidential message from TN and so I went to check my tumblr and there was nothing there so I was worried at first, but I know they always take a while to send each one out, and once again, by my own intuition, I just knew I was getting one, and knew somehow that all of us were going to meet her together at some point – we’d been on countless walks by the beach all year dreaming about the day we’d meet T together, and I just knew in my heart it would happen for us all – and so I had to go to uni that day so I was checking my messages every other minute of the day, and I got home in the afternoon and had a nap because I was physically exhausted LOL. Next minute I realise its nearly 6pm and I was getting ready for dinner, and out of nowhere, my subconscious mind decided that I’d click on my twitter app, which I genuinely barely EVER touch these days - I hadn’t touched it in days, but somehow my mind told me to click on it in that moment, and the second I logged in there was one new message, and there it was. I screamed so loud and started shrieking, running over to mum and dad and yelling at them – they were very very excited because I’d told them about the girls getting one that morning!!! I couldn’t believe they’d sent it via twitter as my main account is tumblr and I was expecting it to come from there but hey then I realised how shifty Taylor is and she probably gave them my twitter because its in my tumblr bio (!!!!!!) (TN don’t follow me on twitter either). They asked for my details in the message. Anyway so it hit me that night that I was officially meeting Taylor anytime in the next 2 weeks or so and I remember proper crying in the shower that night (I never cry properly like I just don’t do it?!!!!) because it was just a shock and it couldn’t have come at a better time honestly and it all just hit me so hard. So anyway the next day I was writing my notes for uni and at about 1pm, I got a call from a New York number and I knew instantly it was TN. I think it may have been Sierra but I honestly can’t remember LOL so the first thing she said was “I understand this may be a bit of a flight…” and in the moment I was like ‘yeah no Sydney or Melbourne is nothing for me’, expecting the event was to be held in Australia LOL, but the next thing she said was “So there’s actually going to be an event in the Los Angeles area on Sunday” and I straight away said “wait you mean this Sunday?!!!” and she said “Yes like in 4 days Sunday, yes in Los Angeles, now I know this is a lot and you may not be able to come but at this stage there’s nothing else on the cards, and we do have your details now and we can send you some things in the meantime” so I said “okay okay can I just call you back so I can sort some things out, can I please just call you back” and she was fine with that and so I hung up and told Mum instantly and then called Dad and he was so happy for me that he was already helping me look up next day flights! So low and behold, within the hour, I ended up booking flights myself and getting in contact with the girls so we could sort out similar flight times and hotels etc, and TN called me back and I told them it was a ‘go’ and that’s the story of how I was suddenly about to fly to LA with one days’ notice to meet Taylor Swift LOL. So basically I had to spend the next few days making up (very) lame excuses to you guys online as to why I wasn’t posting at my usual times and it was the hardest secret I will ever have to keep OH. MY. GOD.

 Arriving in LA

So Friday morning LA time I arrived and met up with the girls straight away at the airport luckily, and we made our way to our hotel. Of course because we were all on a 13+ hour flight, we missed the release of ‘Gorgeous’ and we knew we had to learn the lyrics before Sunday LOL so it was on repeat for 48 hours straight and we were loving every moment of it. We had an amazing 2 full days exploring LA and doing fun things, knowing how excited we were for Sunday’s adventure!!!

Meeting Taylor

In no time it was Sunday the 22nd October, aka the day we were meeting Taylor Swift in her LA home. (!!!!!!) We had to go out shopping in the morning to find a frame for B’s painting she was doing for T, and then we probably spent the rest of the day in the hotel with ‘Gorgeous’ on repeat getting prepared to actually get ready LOL. By 12pm we started doing our makeup and hair because we didn’t want to rush the process or anything, and honestly soon enough it was already 3.30pm and we were downstairs taking photos and vlogging, about to hop in an uber to take us to the meeting spot (!!!!!!). So we get there and walk inside to where TN directed us, fill out some details and get our wristbands (!!!!!) and suddenly I recognise this girl with dark hair and a stripy dress, and I just kNEW straight away it was Bella aka @swiftful-thinking13 but I had that fear it wasn’t so I waited a bit longer to properly check and it was DEFINITELY her LOL so we were all kind of standing in a circle and I just looked at her and went “Bella… Bella… BELLA” and she dead set looked at me in complete and utter shock for god knows how long (there were no words coming out I kid you not) and so then and there we both ran into a hug and she basically started crying, saying “THIS IS BETTER THAN MEETING TAYLOR SWIFT I CANT BELIEVE YOU’RE HERE IN LA WTF MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE I LOVE YOU” and literally until we actually got on the shuttle she was in disbelief and none of us could quite believe what was happening LOL (I knew ALL ALONG she was gonna be there, may I add, I KNEW it).

This is a pic of Bella and I basically as soon as we met!!

Anyway among all this chaos, someone informed me that @ohkimani just rolled up and I legit stood up, looked around and went “KIMANI” and there she was in front of me and yeah that was casual, considering I was supposed to meet both these girls in a few months time when I’m back in LA!!! So we took some photos, had a good chat, and I also met Paige!! ( @heypay ), and waited around until it was time for us all to get on the shuttles to the ‘secret location’.

Kimani, Bella and I!                             

 It was about 6pm or so when our group got on the shuttle after a security check, and I sat next to Bella, while B and G sat right behind us, and we spent the entire ride basically holding each others hands crying, knowing that we were minutes away from Taylor Swift’s house (!!!!!!). So we roll up to her place, the gates open and it felt like I was in wonderland in that moment, I’m telling you it was indescribable. We had to have another body check when we got off the shuttle, and we were then told to stand against the wall. On my way to the wall, I saw what looked like her guest living area all lit up with about 20 candles sitting around a bench LOL, and then there was an archway next to the wall to the backyard that was surrounded by fairy lights!!!!!!!! So in the few minutes we waited for everyone to get off the bus, we started hyperventilating and going into panic mode like I think I said to Bella about 20 times in a row that I wanted to turn around and leave because it felt fake and I got so scared suddenly that we were about to be in Taylor Swift’s presence (!!!!!!!!). 

Anyway soon enough I think it was Erica who escorted us through to the backyard, and into the pool area where the first group were mingling. All the food was set up on tables around the pool area and I just about lost my entire soul in that moment…. It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie like her location is divine!!!! and just sitting around her pool eating her food was a feeling I could never ever ever describe to you…ever. I had a plate with hommus and carrots because a lot of you know I can’t live without hommus LOL, and I had some olives, a REP cookie, REP m&m’s, a sushi roll thing, chips, and of course, a SMART water hehe. When we went to sit down by the jacuzzi, ‘Fire Away’ by Chris Stapleton started playing, and Bella and I just looked at each other in disbelief because in that moment everything was perfect, and we were listening to such a chilled, country song as the sun set in the most beautiful way over LA on a warm autumnal night at Taylor Swift’s house. It was there that I think we both just cried, like we’d met for the first time at Taylor Swift’s house and we’d already felt like best friends and it all came full circle, and I looked at B and G and went, guys this just isn’t real, its not… how did we fly here, I can’t believe life right now. That moment is a memory I’ll treasure forever and I truly could not have felt more content with my life – everything felt perfect. So we were waiting until the other groups arrived, and suddenly I saw Tree turn up so I went over and while she was chatting to other people, @teardropsonsmyguitar came over to me and said “OH MY GOD I KNEW I RECOGNISED YOU OH MY GOD EMILY HEY” and I was like oh my gODDD girl, remind me your username again!!!! And she told me and I knew it was Kaitlyn straight away and she told me I was beautiful etc and just about cried then too because I felt closer than ever to everyone there even though I was oceans away from home! Finally Tree turned to us and she said “So where are you guys from?!” and B, G and I said together “Australia!” and she goes “wOW WOW oh my GOD what part?!” and we said Gold Coast and she was so enthused and ecstatic for us and then I asked her how her cat is going and she told us a cute little story and it was adorable hehe and then we spoke more and she had to go and check on something and left. I also finally got to meet my Aussie gal @screamedsooloud and her sister during that time and we were talking about the fact that none of us knew if any other Aussies were gonna be there and omg Dani is truly as funny as you see online LOL. 

Anyway soon after, we were escorted back up to the house, into a small living area with candles lit everywhere and soft pillows/blankets all over the floor. I was so mesmerised by everything that I wasn’t paying attention to where B and G were and suddenly they said “EM, come over here!!!” and I turned around and saw a red chair with speakers either side and I knew EXACTLY where homegirl was about to be sitting, so somehow we ended up smack bang at the front of the room, less than 1m away from the chair. We then spent a solid 10 minutes screeching and crying to each other, knowing Taylor Swift was about to sit less than a f*****g metre away from us for 2 hours (!!!!!!!!!!!!). So yeah all of a sudden, there was commotion at the back of the room, and Taylor Alison Swift appeared through the curtain, and the whole room turned into madness and hysteria holy christ, but no apparently that wasn’t enough – two of the HAIM sisters are right behind her, as well as Jack Antonoff, Ruby Rose, Jessica Veronica (I think), Ash Avignone, and someone else and the whole room went into riot (!!!!!!) Taylor made her way to the front, hugging some people along the way, including B, to which T said “YOU MADE IT!”, knowing we came from Australia (????!!!!!!!). So there we were, less than a metre away from Taylor Swift herself, trying to act like we were somewhat alive in that moment. She looks very different in real life I found I don’t know she just looked so beautiful and perfect in every way and she was wearing high waisted camo pants with huge boots and a long sleeved black crop with her curly hair and red lips!!! I won’t talk now much about what happened in that room, but I WILL say I had a dance party with her and she came over to us and fully had a proper dance sesh and it still just felt like a dream. Throughout the playing of the album, she looked at me so intently so many times that I felt like I had to look away at times because she truly does stare into your soul like its mesmerising WOW. Anyway when (my now favourite song) was playing, I started crying instantly and I saw that she was watching me at times, and by the last verse, Bella, me, B and G had all lost it, laughing and crying at each other, having the absolute time of our lives, and T watched us, smiling and miming the lyrics to us the whole verse and that was by far probably the happiest moment of my life, it was just a feeling you could not put into words – it meant everything and it couldn’t have been more perfect, she made that song extra special for me and I’ll have that memory to hold onto forever. We also fully bowed down to her like you actually would to Queen Elizabeth, because hey she IS a queen, and it was so funny LOL. 

Once she’d kinda finished up with that part of the night, she told us she had to go de-sweat and freshen up because that LA heat with 100 of us in a small room was really getting to everyone and so we kinda mingled and went for a bathroom rush to freshen up ourselves before we started the meet and greet/photo opportunity. We went to what was probably her guest bathroom, as the house is still in renovation and there were actual notes on the wall saying ‘wallpaper’ etc like it was legit in mid renovation so it was exciting to know that she told us we were the first official ‘guests’ in this home?!!!! And then we got back into the room and mingled while people started forming a line to the next room where she was about to take photos and meet us! It was probably about 45 minutes later, after lots of crying and talking and general disbelief, that we were about to walk over and hug Taylor Swift – ‘Malibu’ by Miley Cyrus was playing right before we met her and I could not have been happier I swear. 

Brittany went over first and she hugged her so tight, and then T looked at me like ‘HEY!’ and we hugged (absolutely magical hugs they are), and then G hugged her. The first thing I said was “okay so we got told on Thursday and booked next day flights over here” and she said instantly “look I still can’t believe you guys made it like I can’t believe it WOW!” and then I think we spoke a bit more about it and she said “so Ali texted me before saying ‘The Australians are here!’ and I was so excited and I can’t believe you’re actually here!” And B said something like “of COURSE we’re here we wouldn’t miss it!!!” and then I think we must have taken the photo and I was like “Can I hold the Grammy” and she was like “uhhh yeaahhhhhhh” and I asked her which Grammy it was to which she said “1989 AOTY” and so there I was holding her latest Grammy in her house, just casually. I gave it to B to hold, and then held it again on the throne that we sat on in the photo LOL, and she gave G the phone from the LWYMMD music video that she danced with earlier LOL. So we all sat down and then T leaned in from the side and I think she put her arm around B and before I could even orientate myself nicely they’d already taken the photo LOL so I’m worried how that will turn out…. So then we all spoke a bit more and I asked her how the cats were and she said “yeah they’re doing really well at home now, although they did have a fight today” and she showed me the scar on her finger LOL, and then she said “but Meredith’s been so good lately, she’s been behaving and she even purred” and I think I just laughed and said ‘yeah purring’s always a good sign’ or something stupid, and then I complimented her black sparkly nails and she pulled them out towards us and said “aww thanks, do you like them? I did them today!” and then we must have said again that we couldn’t believe we were really there and she said “guys I just cannot believe you made it, thank you so much” and then the girls walked away because everyone seemed to go as a group first and then allow each person to have a one on one with Taylor. So suddenly it was just me and Taylor and I think the first thing we did was get a photo and so I said “okay what should we do” and she was like “I don’t mind, whatever you want” and so I quickly said “lets just hug” because I always wanted a cute hugging photo so we just locked ourselves in a hug, and JUST as the photographer was about to take our photo, they had to walk away and change something, so in any normal situation I thought T would let go and just wait, but she LITERALLY KEPT HUGGING ME in that position and I nearly died I was in shock but also felt so loved in that moment and I said “oh my god you smell AMAZING” because we were literally THAT close her scent was fully rubbing off on me and she smelled DIVINE like my gOD !!!!!! And she said “awww thanks” and then I think we finally got our photo, and then started talking more. The first proper thing she said was “oh my god I LOVE your dress so much, wow, its like perfect for like a more important, special type of occasion, like a first date, you know what I mean?!” and I just lost it then wow. I think after that I mentioned how thankful I am for all the tumblr friends I’ve made and how supportive we are online and she said something like “awww yes it’s the most beautiful thing” and then I mentioned Akhila ( @smilingswiftie ) and how she told me she was meeting T beforehand and then I realised I probably shouldn’t have told Taylor that so I quickly said “don’t worry, I kept the secret!!” and she turned back and cackled LOL I found it pretty funny and then she ACTUALLY SPOKE ABOUT AKHILA and said “oh my god she’s so pure and adorable and I didn’t want to let her go” and I said “yeah she’s so beautiful” and then I mentioned how Mere  ( @lifeofswiftie89 ) had mentioned Jess ( @jessicaswiftie1989 ) and I (my OG group chat) at the RI ss and she interrupted and said “ah Meredith with the cats” and nodded and said “yeah yeah” before I finished Jess’s name and she fully knew them as she apparently did when Mere mentioned Jess and I to her (?!!!!!) so yeah that happened and she knows a LOT of people I tell you… And then I think she was just standing there and I remember looking up and saying “you’re GORGEOUS” because I wanted to sneak in the ‘gorgeous’ reference LOL, and she stepped back and did that cute little smile of hers and said “thanks GORGEOUSSSSSSS” just like she sings it in the song (!!!!!!) and then I probably said for the millionth time that I couldn’t quite believe I was there and she said for the millionth time “I can’t believe you’re here thank you so much for coming!!” and then she had the AUDACITY to say so casually like so casually I almost died, that “you were on the list ages ago, I’m so sorry they took so long!” and I think I just laughed in shock and went “well I can’t BELIEVE I’m here, thank you so much” and then I think she hugged me again and we said our goodbyes and it was B and G’s turn to speak with her. I got my merch bag and Ali wanted me to wait for the girls because they wanted to interview us about coming all this way…. And then soon enough we were escorted out the side door and back onto the bus and I basically wanted to cry then LOL and so that was the story of how I flew 13 hours across the world with 3 days notice to meet Taylor Swift in LA with my 2 best friends!!!!!!!

Timing really is a funny thing, and it all just so happened at quite honestly the most perfect time ever. This year I have felt more confident than ever, and most content with myself and my life and I feel like the best things happen when you’re at your best and that’s why meeting her when I did couldn’t have possibly come at a better time – just know that good things come to those who wait, and you’ll know when you know, I promise. Never ever ever give up. 

And so to end the story, on October 22nd 2017, this happened:

thank you endlessly from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity of a lifetime, and for giving me a memory I will NEVER forget as long as I live, Taylor, you’re truly the best there is :’)

[davewakeman]

Talking Tickets: 7 February 2020--Come See Me In NYC! And, London!

Hey everyone! 

Thank you so much for being here. Every week the community around this newsletter grows larger and larger all because you are sharing this newsletter with your friends and colleagues.

There were a few challenges with the link to the new ebook I produced with Booking Protect. So we worked up a fix. We are also putting together a special FREE webinar on 26 February 2020 at 1500 GMT (10 AM Eastern) with ideas, takeaways, and actions we felt were compelling from the ebook.

I’m in DC this week on a bit of a holiday with the boy. It is a winter break for DCPS. But I do have upcoming trips with details in the footer!

To the tickets!

————————————————————————————————————

1. Are diversity programs failing? 

This is an idea that is really close to my heart because it was a really huge issue that I ended up spending a lot of time on when I was going to Australia in November.

The term that people would whisper to me was “older and whiter”.

The idea of diversity popped up a lot lately as well with the Oscars.

In many of my recent talks, I’ve been focusing people’s attention on the idea of empathy as a competitive advantage when trying to reach and serve an audience.

But more widely, as marketers and sellers, we have to continue to try and juggle two competing ideas: building new audiences and keeping the old audience.

I think we should look at diversity as an opportunity and understand that reaching and cultivating is an ever-changing art form and one that we will always be revisiting.

This white paper is from 2014, but I think it still offers a lot of value to folks thinking about the makeup of their audience.

2. West Ham’s finances and relegation fight open an interesting window into the business of a sports’ club: 

Blame Simon for my almost all-consuming attention to the Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur.

But following the Premier League and European football so closely has helped me shift my thinking about revenue generation, ticket sales, and the role of fan development in the success of a team, especially long-term.

If you aren’t familiar, the bottom three teams in the Premier League standings are relegated to the Championship. The top two Championship teams are automatically promoted and the teams in 3-6 play a tournament for the last spot!

It is a truly fascinating system.

In 2016, West Ham moved from their traditional home ground, Upton Park, into London Stadium. Most of us consider it conventional wisdom that you are going to make boatloads more money if you move into a new stadium.

West Ham is challenging that convention.

If you read through their revenue numbers over the last few years, you’ll see that the revenues aren’t really all that different than before they moved from Upton Park, except in the TV money.

In the case of West Ham, we see rising attendance, new stadium, and investments in players, administration, and the venue…but no more money from the in-game experience.

I’d point to two things here that are worth our attention:

The fans seem to be ambivalent, at best, to the experience at the London Stadium and even with more fans, they aren’t as compelled to spend money as they might have with their destination location at Upton Park. 

We have to continue to always test our assumptions about things that are conventional wisdom or that everyone is doing. Due to the nature of reporting from Premier League teams we get a clearer financial picture than would ever happen in the US, but I like to offer the thought experiment of thinking through “what if what we know is wrong?” This is a great example of trying to think beyond conventional wisdom. 

3. The Super Bowl was a hot ticket! 

Ticketmaster reported that the average ticket price for Super Bowl LIV got up to $8507!

This is a really big number.

I remember being in NYC for the Super Bowl between the Broncos and Seahawks when on the Friday before the game, I had many brokers offering me tickets for less than $1,000.

QZ wrote up a nice piece about how the Super Bowl came to dominate our culture.

And, I think we can only look on at the people that were saying the NFL was over and roll our eyes.

I think the NFL does the big marquee event as well as anyone could, but I think you can still question how that can and should translate to the 16 regular-season games, preseason, and playoffs.

But you have to continue to be amazed that over 100 million folks will tune into anything.

One word of caution, the Super Bowl has really been a bucket list item for a lot of folks and I think that will continue for a while.

I do think that this year’s Super Bowl still highlights how much of demand and excitement is still driven by things that are outside of the NFL’s control and that is a dangerous place to be if you allow that to always be the case.

Demand generation and audience maintenance have to always be top of everyone’s mind.

4. Resale, transparency, and the secondary market get clicks! 

The first story in the headline is from November 2019, when I was in Australia. So I don’t think I really got it at the time, but my inboxes kept getting this one forwarded to me over the last few weeks…so why not!

To begin with, Ian Taylor sent me a comment a while back that made a good point about no one asking about inventory and transparency in many other industries.

True!

But I think the continued nature of stories around tickets and people’s questioning of the industry from outside of the industry reflects that the buying experience is often confusing and problematic for people at a point in time where many industries have developed almost frictionless transactions.

If you are me, you ask, “what if this didn’t make sense” and you are reminded that tickets are an easy tool to steal, commit fraud, or launder money from.

Every team, band, and organization should be working their tails off to create and keep customers. That’s the job!

So when Pearl Jam takes actions to limit resale and transfer, I’m sympathetic to their actions because they’ve been consistent in developing a fan base and working to control their tickets to the greatest amount possible.

I’m also not blind in my view of the market and recognize that there are plenty of organizations using the secondary market to their advantage. Which if that is their strategy, good on them.

Finally, I completely recognize that in the States our relationship is different with the secondary market than anywhere else in the world and that there isn’t just one reason behind this.

If I look at the secondary market and some of these things from a global perspective, I’d highlight 3 points:

In the States, we need the secondary market because the secondary market has a lead on digital demand generation, no one is doing a particularly great job marketing, and there are technology gaps between the primary and secondary. Among other things.

If you are a secondary market player in an international market, to establish yourself, stomping your feet about fairness and boohooing isn’t a good look. You need to educate about why resale is important and focus on creating unique value for your market. 

Everyone should be focusing on marketing more effectively because as Stephen Glicken mentioned on my podcast and Queue-it points out in their blog post, there are billions of dollars at play…and as Stephen points out, lots of it is left on the table. 

5. We should be paying attention to the sports business community in Australia:

Due to my recent trip to Melbourne and my friendship with a lot of folks from the Australian Football League, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the kickoff of this season and the kickoff of AFLW.

The AFLW is setting a good example of women’s leagues around the world because they are focusing on growing the game, taking care of players, and long-term success from the start. Which can be extremely difficult.

At the same time, the AFL’s business continues to grow and their ability to incorporate and activate sponsors is a good example for teams and leagues around the world.

Look at the new deal with Cole’s to be the official supermarket of the AFL. And, what is interesting is that Cole’s will work to actively give back in communities…which may be brand purpose mumbo jumbo, but I think aligning your sponsors with your fans is a smart decision.

In extending their deal with BetEasy, the AFL is pushing responsible gambling efforts and handle a topic that is on the minds of a lot of folks around the world as gambling becomes a bigger part of the sports landscape globally.

Is it a perfect solution?

Is anything?

Finally, looking at the A-League and their conversations about how to grow the game and the sport in Australia has been interesting over the last few months.

This story about the possibility that Hyundai will walk away from their sponsorship of the A-League highlights a bunch of trends that might be on people’s minds everywhere like declining participation, poor car sales, and lack of demand/attention.

These are interesting situations to watch because Australia hasn’t suffered a recession in about 30 years!  So they give us a good laboratory for learning about how they manage growth, but also how they fight decline. —————————————————————————————————————-

What am I up to this week?

Episode 100 of the podcast is ME! I wanted to share a few ideas and learnings from the first 100 episodes and use the opportunity to talk about where I’m going next.

Queue-It asked me and a few other folks what we think is necessary to be successful in selling tickets.

I’m going to do a workshop in NYC on Tuesday, March 31st, 2020 on marketing and strategy in any market. I’ll have a landing page posted next week. But if you are interested in learning more, email me.

I’m in London on 13 April and I’m going to see about putting together a meetup at one of my favorite spots in London, Brewdog SoHo. More details to follow, but mark your calendars now if you are going to be in London that day.Ta

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Talking Tickets: 7 February 2020–Come See Me In NYC! And, London! was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

[ladystylestores]

Your Wednesday Briefing – The New York Times

Brazil’s leader tests positive for coronavirus

President Jair Bolsonaro — who has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus in Brazil, which is experiencing the worst outbreak outside the United States — said on Tuesday that he had been infected with the virus.

Mr. Bolsonaro, 65, said he had been tested after experiencing fatigue, muscle pain and a fever. He did not express contrition for his handling of the pandemic, saying that the demands of his job had put him at risk.

“I am the president; I have to be on the front lines of the fight,” he said. He compared the virus to “rain, which is going to get to you.”

The president once described the coronavirus as “a measly cold.” When asked in late April about Brazil’s rising death toll, he replied: “So what? Sorry, but what do you want me to do?”

Details: Critics have called his handling of the pandemic — which has included shunning masks, encouraging mass rallies of his supporters and championing unproven remedies — reckless. Brazil now has more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and more than 65,000 deaths.

Related: The World Health Organization has acknowledged that airborne transmission of the coronavirus may be a threat in indoor spaces. Here’s how to protect yourself.

In other developments:

The U.S. gave formal notice that it was withdrawing from the World Health Organization, officials said Tuesday. Effective in 2021, the move would cut off one of the organization’s top funding sources.

Melbourne will be locked down for six weeks after experiencing a record number of daily coronavirus cases, officials said.

The virus death toll in India surpassed 20,000 on Tuesday. With more than 719,500 confirmed cases, the country has overtaken Russia to become the third hardest-hit, after the U.S. and Brazil.

The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Novavax $1.6 billion to expedite the development of 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by the beginning of next year.

The British government has promised $2 billion to save its cultural institutions, sending a powerful message about the centrality of arts in democracy, our theater critic writes.

As countries across the world reopen travel but block American visitors, a long-held sense that the U.S. passport was a golden ticket is fading.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the outbreaks.

Sweden becomes a cautionary tale

Since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox experiment: What happens when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered?

Our European economics correspondent explains what happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that locked down, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better. Its central bank expects its economy to contract by 4.5 percent this year, and the unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent in May from 7.1 percent in March — comparable to the economic damage in Denmark.

Details: More than three months after its neighbors imposed lockdowns, the coronavirus is blamed for 5,420 deaths in Sweden, a country of 10 million. Per capita, that is 40 percent more deaths than in the United States, 12 times more than in Norway, seven times more than in Finland and six times more than in Denmark.

What it means: Many countries have lifted restrictions on the assumption that doing so would revive their economies. But Sweden’s result suggests that a failure to impose social distancing can cost lives and jobs at the same time. The pandemic has disrupted businesses regardless of government policy, in part because people simply avoid shopping and dining out.

A troubling snapshot of global warming

Wildfires in the Arctic released more polluting gases into the Earth’s atmosphere in June than in any other month in 18 years of data collection.

Last month, such fires released 59 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, scientists said on Tuesday. That’s more carbon than oil-producing Norway emits in a year. The Arctic is warming at least two and a half times faster than the global average rate. Smoke from the Siberian fires seems to be reaching as far as the Pacific Northwest in the U.S., scientists said.

What it means: Studies show that persistent Arctic warming may influence extreme weather events and thaw permafrost, which releases still more greenhouse gases.

If you have 5 minutes, this is worth it

Out-of-work Britons try berry picking

In this pandemic year, some Britons who trained as chefs, personal trainers or salespeople are working in fields instead, picking berries. And while the labor is not glamorous, many are enjoying it.

They are filling in on farms where fruit is traditionally picked by seasonal workers from Eastern Europe. “It’s not something I would always do,” one out-of-work chef said, but “it kept me busy, and it’s educating me.”

Here’s what else is happening

Deutsche Bank: The German lender agreed to a $150 million settlement with New York financial regulators after it repeatedly overlooked suspicious transactions by Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy sex offender who killed himself last year.

President Trump: In a tell-all memoir, Mary Trump, the president’s niece, claims that Mr. Trump embraces “cheating as a way of life” and sees people in “monetary terms.”

Russia espionage: Russia’s secret police have arrested Ivan Safronov, a respected former reporter who recently worked as an adviser to the head of the country’s space agency. He has been accused of committing treason by passing secrets to an unidentified NATO country.

Arms sales: A day after imposing sanctions on 20 Saudis for human rights abuses, Britain on Tuesday resumed arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The sales had been suspended out of concern that the weapons would be used to violate international humanitarian law in Yemen.

London: An European gold medalist and her partner, a fellow sprinter, have accused police officers of racial profiling after the athletes were handcuffed and their car searched in an elegant London neighborhood. The police said there was “no concern around the officer’s conduct.”

Snapshot: A fleet of high-altitude balloons the size of tennis courts, like the one shown above in Nevada, began delivering internet service to Kenya on Tuesday, giving online access to tens of thousands of people. It’s the first-ever commercial deployment of the technology.

Travel: Hostels around Europe, built on the idea of community, have sat empty the past few months. Can they keep their sociability in a time of social distancing?

What we’re reading: This Star Tribune profile of the Minnesota radio host Garrett McQueen. Melissa Eddy, our Berlin correspondent, calls it a “great profile of his mission to expand our idea of how we define classical music.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: This asparagus, goat cheese and tarragon tart is effortlessly chic. Make it with a store-bought puff pastry.

Read: “Lake Life,” David James Poissant’s first novel, is a tale of a family getaway gone very wrong. It’s less concerned with the origins of dysfunction than with how it plays out, our reviewer writes.

Do: Strength training is more physiologically intricate than you might have imagined. A new study shows that before our muscles become stronger, our nervous system changes.

Staying safe at home is easier when you have plenty of things to read, cook, watch and do. At Home has our full collection of ideas.

And now for the Back Story on …

Hard choices for tech in Hong Kong

After China imposed a new security law on Hong Kong, Facebook, Google, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Twitter and some other digital companies said they would temporarily stop complying with the Hong Kong authorities’ requests for user data. Here’s what Shira Ovide, from our On Tech newsletter, has to say about their decision.

Going up against the new law could force those companies to shut down service in Hong Kong. It would also be a public defiance of China’s government that we rarely see from global companies. No one knows what happens next.

U.S. internet companies face hard calls as they decide how and whether to comply with the divergent laws and norms of each country they operate in without violating their own missions.

When it comes to China, those complications are multiplied by a thousand. The government and some of its supportive citizens are willing to punish global companies and organizations like the National Basketball Association that don’t go along with the government’s views of itself or the world.

Companies with business in China have twisted themselves in knots, for example, trying not to offend the government by appearing to side with Hong Kong’s demonstrators pressing for autonomy.

This Hong Kong law, however, presents the U.S. internet powers with one of those hard choices multiplied by a thousand. If they go along with China’s new law, they are likely to face backlash from American politicians and their own employees.

If they don’t comply, China might make it impossible for the American internet companies to continue to operate in Hong Kong. It might seize the tech companies’ offices in the city or even arrest their employees. You can imagine how the U.S. government would respond to that.

Even while they’re banned in China, the internet companies might not be able to avoid trouble with China.

That’s it for this briefing. By the way, we’re streaming this year’s Paris Fashion Week live. See you next time.

— Isabella

Thank you Melissa Clark provided the recipe, and Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about what Trump’s divisive speech at Mount Rushmore reveals about his re-election campaign. • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: 16 tablespoons (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Our tech reporter Taylor Lorenz spoke to ABC’s Good Morning America about her reporting on high school students who use Instagram to expose racism they face at school.

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Australia – Audience

Despite its comparatively small inhabitants unfold over, in some instances, hundreds of miles, and handful  of main cities, the market is remarkably robust and growing, with numerous exhibits at stadium degree, touring festivals and some very aggressive promoters.  Christopher Barrett stories

It isn’t be the simplest or least expensive nation to succeed in from Europe or the USA, and as soon as there it may be necessary to travel hundreds of miles between cities and throughout multiple time zones.

Nevertheless, for many who take the time and have an viewers there, it’s is a rustic with a robust financial system and a population with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for reside music.

The newest Ticket Attendance and Income report, revealed in October last yr by business physique Reside Efficiency Australia (LPA), paints an image of a market in exceptional shape.

Modern music ticket sales revenue in 2017 was up 87.7 per cent year-on-year to A$826.1 million (US$568), in response to the LPA, with attendance up 49.6 per cent over the same time-frame, to eight.5m.

It was the sector’s first yr of progress in income since 2013 and the very best revenue and attendance recorded for modern music since LPA began producing the report back in 2004.

Australia is a massively competitive market with quite a bit to play for and one which has seen vital consolidation this yr amongst a few of its foremost promoters.

In March, Frontier Touring founder Michael Gudinski and Chugg Entertainment boss Michael Chugg reunited to type a three way partnership some 40 years after they co-founded Frontier Touring (see Audience challenge 230). That they had cut up in 1999.

Only a month later the market noticed additional consolidation when AEG bought a 50 per cent stake in Frontier Touring. The AEG-Frontier venture cements a relationship that goes back 12 years, throughout which era Frontier promoted AEG tours in Australia and New Zealand.

Included within the deal is main venue operator AEG Ogden, which owns and operates Qudos Bank Area (cap. 21,389) in Sydney, Brisbane Leisure Centre (14,500), Perth Area (15,000), Newcastle Entertainment Centre (7,500) and the 9,000-capacity ICC Sydney Theatre.

The mixture of Frontier, Chugg, AEG Presents and globally formidable promoter AEG Presents is a big rival to Reside Nation Australia.

AEG Presents chief operating officer and CEO/chairman Jay Marciano, based mostly in Los Angeles, says that following the Frontier acquisition the corporate plans to develop a touring network of mid-sized venues across Australia (see Audience situation 231).

“There are not enough small clubs and theatres in Australia for international artistes to be able to have the 10 or more shows that make it affordable to make the journey there,” he says.

AEG Ogden group director Tim Worton says the Frontier and AEG Presents deal shall be good for the market.

“We expect there will be the potential for even more AEG product to come to Australia as a result of the joint venture, so that is a positive,” he says.

Worton also expects AEG Ogden to profit from the merging of multinational venue management corporations AEG Amenities and SMG to type ASM International.

“SMG does not have any venues in our market, but we will benefit from the resources of this expanded network of venues,” he says.

Worton describes the native market as being “extremely buoyant” with AEG’s venues having fun with very robust ticket gross sales for exhibits by acts together with Phil Collins, Keith City, Pink Scorching Chili Peppers, Pink and Hugh Jackman.

Nevertheless, he factors out that there are difficulties, not least the very fact the Australian dollar has fallen in value to its lowest degree in around a decade.

“Promoters face the challenge of rising artiste fees and show production costs in addition to a weaker Australian dollar and that puts pressure on ticket prices, it can push them to a level that endangers the ticket sales needed to make the tours stack up,” he says.

Report returns

Stay Nation Entertainment entered the Australian market when it acquired Michael Coppel Presents (MCP) in 2012, which on the time was the nation’s second largest promoter. Coppel is chairman of Reside Nation Australia (LNA).

Coppel says that is shaping up to be a report yr for LNA when it comes to the number of live shows and tickets bought.

In the spring LNA promoted Pink Scorching Chili Peppers’ first headline exhibits in Australia for 12 years, selling-out 12 arenas and open-air venues ranging in capacity from 12,00Zero to 35,00Zero. Around 176,657 tickets have been bought at costs ranging from A$101 to A$165 (US$70-115).

Among its different major excursions is Metallica, who will play eight stadium exhibits to a mixed audience of greater than 300,00Zero, with ticket prices from A$127 to A$250 (US$88-174).

U2 may even play eight stadium exhibits and a combined audience of 380,000.

“The market is two-paced; major headliners are doing great business but lesser names can struggle due to the high volume of competing tours and high ticket prices,” says Coppel.

At Reside Nation Leisure-owned Ticketmaster Australia a serious focus this yr has been shifting away from paperless tickets to a mobile-only service.

The Discussion board Melbourne (2,00Zero) turned the first venue in Australia to completely adopt the know-how and Ticketmaster has introduced paperless ticketing for all basic admission tickets for U2 exhibits.

“Fans want an easier and more secure ticketing system which fits seamlessly into their lives,” says Ticketmaster Australia & NZ MD Maria O’Connor,. “Not only will digital tickets simplify the entire ticketing process, it will also increase security, decrease fraud and unlock unprecedented value from customer relationships.”

The company just lately partnered with the new North Queensland Stadium (25,000) as its official ticketing agent. Opening in 2020, Elton John will carry out there in February.

“Live entertainment across Australia and New Zealand has never been stronger,” says O’Connor. “We’re seeing new venues being built around the country and further expansion into regional areas to cope with demand and further enhance the live experience.”

Michaels reunited

Michael Gudinski founded the Mushroom Group in 1972 and seven years later launched Frontier Touring as part of the group. Among the many acts it has worked with are Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. Forthcoming exhibits embrace The Chemical Brothers and Shawn Mendes.

Frontier Touring’s three way partnership with Chugg Entertainment means the 2 operations now co-promote all Chugg tours, whereas Frontier has also joined Chugg and Potts Leisure as a companion in country music pageant CMC Rocks (24,00Zero).

Gudinski says it’s great to be working with Chugg once more and factors out it is rather much a partnership not an acquisition.

“It is not the band getting back together, Chugg is not part of Frontier, but Frontier is right behind him,” he says.

The veteran promoter says the cope with AEG does not imply the top of Frontier as an unbiased company.

“We are adding staff, going strong, and hopefully AEG will deliver more tours. We are thinking of the future,” he says.

Michael Chugg founded Chugg Leisure in 2000, touring acts corresponding to Coldplay, Radiohead, The Who and Florence + The Machine.

Chugg promotes around 600 exhibits per yr and its key tours this yr embrace Australian and New Zealand exhibits with Elton John, with 460,00Zero tickets bought for 31 exhibits, with prices ranging from A$139 to A$339 (US$97-237).

The company is finding environment friendly methods to market exhibits by way of digital platforms but Chugg factors out that traditional media stays vitally necessary. For its largest excursions the company makes use of radio, TV and outside promoting and has been recognized to supply particular TV and radio programming.

“When we sell-out we continue to promote the tours as it makes people aware of the act and their success,” he says. “Nothing frustrates our team more than seeing social media posts like ‘Oh dear, I’m a huge fan of … but I didn’t know they were here in Oz’.”

Chugg says ticket gross sales for his firm’s exhibits are usually robust however he doesn’t like other promoters decreasing prices for exhibits that aren’t selling nicely.

“We feel it must be really frustrating for fans when they pay full price and end up next to someone who paid as little as 25 per cent of the real ticket price,” he says.

Consolidating energy

Another veteran Australian concert promoter is Paul Dainty, who started organising exhibits in the early 1970s, working with David Bowie, U2, Michael Jackson and Miley Cyrus along the best way.

TEG Dainty was shaped in 2016 when TEG, which owns the country’s largest ticket agency Ticketek, acquired Dainty Group Worldwide, which had been owned and operated independently by Dainty. In a mean yr the company promotes round 200 live shows.

He says the Australian market could be very robust and his company had an “amazing” start to the yr with Phil Collins’s Not Lifeless But: Reside! tour.

“We sold-out 11 shows in stadiums and arenas across Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “On one night we had Phil at AAMI Park [30,000] in Melbourne and Slash at Margaret Court Arena [7,500] literally across the road at the same time.”

One other firm spotlight was Eminem’s The Rapture 2019 tour in February, with five sold-out exhibits throughout Australia and New Zealand collectively attracting 304,Zero16 followers.

“We set new concert attendance records at the MCG Melbourne, with 80,708,” says Dainty.

TEG Dainty just lately introduced a 10-show stadium tour by Queen + Adam Lambert and can also be working on 28-date area tour by Hugh Jackman.

Noble ventures

Founder and director of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest (25,00Zero) Peter Noble is among the last remaining really unbiased established promoters.

Ticket costs for the annual five-day Bluesfest, held in April, ranged from A$160 to A$700 (US$112-490). Headliners included Jack Johnson, Tash Sultana, David Gray and Iggy Pop.

Grey and Iggy Pop have been among those to enterprise further afield during April with exhibits in Sydney and Melbourne, beneath the BluesFest Touring banner, but Noble additionally works on tours throughout the year.

“Iggy Pop was the biggest tour so far this, with 9,199 tickets sold and prices starting at A$89[$62)”saysNoble[$62)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble

With greater than 40-years expertise in the business, Noble says now is a superb time to be within the enterprise regardless of the stiff competitors.

“It is a healthy business and a very exciting time, we are out there touring artistes at all levels from small clubs through to arenas,” he says. “We don’t want to end-up with two monopolies running the industry.”

Unbiased strengths

Also based mostly in Byron Bay, One World Entertainment (OWE) promotes throughout the region and runs touring pageant Beneath The Southern Stars.

Headlined by Hoodoo Gurus, it completed a six-city run in January, enjoying to round 5,000 individuals per night time. OWE also lately promoted a tour by Boyzone and is working on tours by Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers.

“The live market is as strong as it’s ever been for the right act placed in the right venue,” says OWE CEO Andrew McManus. “It all comes down to awareness of your product and the local market.”

Prime of the listing of his considerations, nevertheless, is the “user pays” scheme launched by New South Wales police that permits it to add additional safety to festivals at the cost of the occasion organiser.

McManus says, “It is crippling. Police can determine how many cops they insist on having at an event while charging anything north of A$124.00 [US] per hour for them, and this is on top of the security guards we are obligated to have,” he says. “Something has to give otherwise more and more festivals and outdoor concerts will be unable to proceed.”

James Brown, Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson and The Stranglers are among artistes to have been promoted by Lennard Promotions over the previous three many years. Among the artistes the company is selling are Billy Ocean, 10cc and Suzi Quatro.

“Due to a glut of international and local tours the market is saturated and discretionary spending is tight,” says Lennard Promotions founder Aldo Lennard. “The challenge is to ascertain the right ticket prices as fans can only attend a certain number of concerts per year, and as ticket prices rise due to escalating costs and Australian dollar devaluation, the task will continue to be difficult.”

Together with his rivals collaborating extra strongly than ever, Lennard says he’s also open to joint ventures.

Paying the proper worth

The Van Egmond Group (VEG) has worked with acts corresponding to Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Prince because it launched greater than 40 years ago.

MD Garry Van Egmond says the corporate is making a buoyant market, however he would additionally wish to see less ticket discounting.

On the again of widespread consolidation among his rivals, Egmond thinks it’s constructive improvement.

“We have seen a lot of strong partnerships take place with the independents in Australia, both with international players and local players, and we want to be part of it.”

Like Chugg and Egmond, Destroy All Strains (DAL) common manager of touring Chris O’Brien is worried at the prevalence of discounted tickets.

“It affects people’s buying patterns,” he says. “We have found a good percentage of them are waiting until the back end to see if they can get a cheaper ticket. We have spent a huge amount of energy training our ticket buyers that this will never happen with our tours.”

Regardless of the challenges, O’Brien says the corporate’s first quarter was the strongest up to now. In a mean yr it works on 40 tours, but this yr it’s on track to promote 60.

Aside excursions by rock, metallic and various acts reminiscent of Combichrist and The Damned, DAL organises the Good Things pageant, which takes place in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with a day by day capacity of 25,000.

Headliners this yr embrace The Offspring, All Time Low and Bullet For My Valentine.

O’Brien says it’s irritating that some artists do not prioritise Australia of their touring plans.

“A lot of artistes leave Australia late in their plans,” he says. “They get to a certain degree in the US or Europe after which anticipate the identical from their first go to to Australia.

“Trying to convince people that their artistes can have a long-term future in Australia can be a challenge.”

Constructing the longer term

After greater than nine years as CEO of the two,896-capacity Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Neil Croker launched live performance consultancy The Status Presents (TPP) in early 2017.

He says he has found it robust to seek out obtainable venues and shopper confidence could possibly be better.

“The market is always strong for the right product but it is generally patchy with consumer confidence low for most of this year, largely due to declining property values and the election period,” he says.

Among TPP’s current tasks was a nine-show tour of Quick Love – A Tribute To George Michael, which sold-out most of the venues, with capacities up to 2,00Zero and a mean ticket worth of A$69 (US$47).

“Following our first successful presentation of Fast Love, we have developed a co-promoting relationship with the show’s producers Entertainers UK that will see us tour more of their shows,” says Croker.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks (M&OP) manages public areas, parks and sporting amenities, in addition to the Rod Laver Area (16,000), Hisense Area (10,00Zero), Margaret Courtroom Area (7,500) and AAMI Park (30,050).

When the Rod Lever Area opened on the banks of the Yarra River in 1988 it was the first in Australia to have a retractable roof. Thirty years later the venue is conming to the top of a four-year, multi-million-dollar, redevelopment programme.

Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM) is a posh of theatres and concert halls within the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank that is to profit from a A$200m (US$137) local government funded overhaul.

Amongst its amenities is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and a 12,500-capacity amphitheatre. ACM additionally houses the Hamer Hall (2,464) and State Theatre (2,0850).

Nearly all of live shows at ACM take place on the Bowl, which has this yr hosted acts including Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Kylie Minogue and Tash Sultana.

“The [redevelopment] project will transform the area around the Arts Centre, creating new and renewed open public space, including an elevated pedestrian park and outdoor performance and event spaces,” says ACM director presenter providers Glen Hirst.

There isn’t a doubt the market remains constructive and dynamic, with intense competition between promoters on the prime finish, but what seems to be an increase in last-minute ticket discounting suggests some pricing may need readjusting.

The post Australia – Audience appeared first on Black Dot Mobile.

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Australia – Audience

Despite its comparatively small inhabitants unfold over, in some instances, hundreds of miles, and handful  of main cities, the market is remarkably robust and growing, with numerous exhibits at stadium degree, touring festivals and some very aggressive promoters.  Christopher Barrett stories

It isn’t be the simplest or least expensive nation to succeed in from Europe or the USA, and as soon as there it may be necessary to travel hundreds of miles between cities and throughout multiple time zones.

Nevertheless, for many who take the time and have an viewers there, it’s is a rustic with a robust financial system and a population with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for reside music.

The newest Ticket Attendance and Income report, revealed in October last yr by business physique Reside Efficiency Australia (LPA), paints an image of a market in exceptional shape.

Modern music ticket sales revenue in 2017 was up 87.7 per cent year-on-year to A$826.1 million (US$568), in response to the LPA, with attendance up 49.6 per cent over the same time-frame, to eight.5m.

It was the sector’s first yr of progress in income since 2013 and the very best revenue and attendance recorded for modern music since LPA began producing the report back in 2004.

Australia is a massively competitive market with quite a bit to play for and one which has seen vital consolidation this yr amongst a few of its foremost promoters.

In March, Frontier Touring founder Michael Gudinski and Chugg Entertainment boss Michael Chugg reunited to type a three way partnership some 40 years after they co-founded Frontier Touring (see Audience challenge 230). That they had cut up in 1999.

Only a month later the market noticed additional consolidation when AEG bought a 50 per cent stake in Frontier Touring. The AEG-Frontier venture cements a relationship that goes back 12 years, throughout which era Frontier promoted AEG tours in Australia and New Zealand.

Included within the deal is main venue operator AEG Ogden, which owns and operates Qudos Bank Area (cap. 21,389) in Sydney, Brisbane Leisure Centre (14,500), Perth Area (15,000), Newcastle Entertainment Centre (7,500) and the 9,000-capacity ICC Sydney Theatre.

The mixture of Frontier, Chugg, AEG Presents and globally formidable promoter AEG Presents is a big rival to Reside Nation Australia.

AEG Presents chief operating officer and CEO/chairman Jay Marciano, based mostly in Los Angeles, says that following the Frontier acquisition the corporate plans to develop a touring network of mid-sized venues across Australia (see Audience situation 231).

“There are not enough small clubs and theatres in Australia for international artistes to be able to have the 10 or more shows that make it affordable to make the journey there,” he says.

AEG Ogden group director Tim Worton says the Frontier and AEG Presents deal shall be good for the market.

“We expect there will be the potential for even more AEG product to come to Australia as a result of the joint venture, so that is a positive,” he says.

Worton also expects AEG Ogden to profit from the merging of multinational venue management corporations AEG Amenities and SMG to type ASM International.

“SMG does not have any venues in our market, but we will benefit from the resources of this expanded network of venues,” he says.

Worton describes the native market as being “extremely buoyant” with AEG’s venues having fun with very robust ticket gross sales for exhibits by acts together with Phil Collins, Keith City, Pink Scorching Chili Peppers, Pink and Hugh Jackman.

Nevertheless, he factors out that there are difficulties, not least the very fact the Australian dollar has fallen in value to its lowest degree in around a decade.

“Promoters face the challenge of rising artiste fees and show production costs in addition to a weaker Australian dollar and that puts pressure on ticket prices, it can push them to a level that endangers the ticket sales needed to make the tours stack up,” he says.

Report returns

Stay Nation Entertainment entered the Australian market when it acquired Michael Coppel Presents (MCP) in 2012, which on the time was the nation’s second largest promoter. Coppel is chairman of Reside Nation Australia (LNA).

Coppel says that is shaping up to be a report yr for LNA when it comes to the number of live shows and tickets bought.

In the spring LNA promoted Pink Scorching Chili Peppers’ first headline exhibits in Australia for 12 years, selling-out 12 arenas and open-air venues ranging in capacity from 12,00Zero to 35,00Zero. Around 176,657 tickets have been bought at costs ranging from A$101 to A$165 (US$70-115).

Among its different major excursions is Metallica, who will play eight stadium exhibits to a mixed audience of greater than 300,00Zero, with ticket prices from A$127 to A$250 (US$88-174).

U2 may even play eight stadium exhibits and a combined audience of 380,000.

“The market is two-paced; major headliners are doing great business but lesser names can struggle due to the high volume of competing tours and high ticket prices,” says Coppel.

At Reside Nation Leisure-owned Ticketmaster Australia a serious focus this yr has been shifting away from paperless tickets to a mobile-only service.

The Discussion board Melbourne (2,00Zero) turned the first venue in Australia to completely adopt the know-how and Ticketmaster has introduced paperless ticketing for all basic admission tickets for U2 exhibits.

“Fans want an easier and more secure ticketing system which fits seamlessly into their lives,” says Ticketmaster Australia & NZ MD Maria O’Connor,. “Not only will digital tickets simplify the entire ticketing process, it will also increase security, decrease fraud and unlock unprecedented value from customer relationships.”

The company just lately partnered with the new North Queensland Stadium (25,000) as its official ticketing agent. Opening in 2020, Elton John will carry out there in February.

“Live entertainment across Australia and New Zealand has never been stronger,” says O’Connor. “We’re seeing new venues being built around the country and further expansion into regional areas to cope with demand and further enhance the live experience.”

Michaels reunited

Michael Gudinski founded the Mushroom Group in 1972 and seven years later launched Frontier Touring as part of the group. Among the many acts it has worked with are Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. Forthcoming exhibits embrace The Chemical Brothers and Shawn Mendes.

Frontier Touring’s three way partnership with Chugg Entertainment means the 2 operations now co-promote all Chugg tours, whereas Frontier has also joined Chugg and Potts Leisure as a companion in country music pageant CMC Rocks (24,00Zero).

Gudinski says it’s great to be working with Chugg once more and factors out it is rather much a partnership not an acquisition.

“It is not the band getting back together, Chugg is not part of Frontier, but Frontier is right behind him,” he says.

The veteran promoter says the cope with AEG does not imply the top of Frontier as an unbiased company.

“We are adding staff, going strong, and hopefully AEG will deliver more tours. We are thinking of the future,” he says.

Michael Chugg founded Chugg Leisure in 2000, touring acts corresponding to Coldplay, Radiohead, The Who and Florence + The Machine.

Chugg promotes around 600 exhibits per yr and its key tours this yr embrace Australian and New Zealand exhibits with Elton John, with 460,00Zero tickets bought for 31 exhibits, with prices ranging from A$139 to A$339 (US$97-237).

The company is finding environment friendly methods to market exhibits by way of digital platforms but Chugg factors out that traditional media stays vitally necessary. For its largest excursions the company makes use of radio, TV and outside promoting and has been recognized to supply particular TV and radio programming.

“When we sell-out we continue to promote the tours as it makes people aware of the act and their success,” he says. “Nothing frustrates our team more than seeing social media posts like ‘Oh dear, I’m a huge fan of … but I didn’t know they were here in Oz’.”

Chugg says ticket gross sales for his firm’s exhibits are usually robust however he doesn’t like other promoters decreasing prices for exhibits that aren’t selling nicely.

“We feel it must be really frustrating for fans when they pay full price and end up next to someone who paid as little as 25 per cent of the real ticket price,” he says.

Consolidating energy

Another veteran Australian concert promoter is Paul Dainty, who started organising exhibits in the early 1970s, working with David Bowie, U2, Michael Jackson and Miley Cyrus along the best way.

TEG Dainty was shaped in 2016 when TEG, which owns the country’s largest ticket agency Ticketek, acquired Dainty Group Worldwide, which had been owned and operated independently by Dainty. In a mean yr the company promotes round 200 live shows.

He says the Australian market could be very robust and his company had an “amazing” start to the yr with Phil Collins’s Not Lifeless But: Reside! tour.

“We sold-out 11 shows in stadiums and arenas across Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “On one night we had Phil at AAMI Park [30,000] in Melbourne and Slash at Margaret Court Arena [7,500] literally across the road at the same time.”

One other firm spotlight was Eminem’s The Rapture 2019 tour in February, with five sold-out exhibits throughout Australia and New Zealand collectively attracting 304,Zero16 followers.

“We set new concert attendance records at the MCG Melbourne, with 80,708,” says Dainty.

TEG Dainty just lately introduced a 10-show stadium tour by Queen + Adam Lambert and can also be working on 28-date area tour by Hugh Jackman.

Noble ventures

Founder and director of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest (25,00Zero) Peter Noble is among the last remaining really unbiased established promoters.

Ticket costs for the annual five-day Bluesfest, held in April, ranged from A$160 to A$700 (US$112-490). Headliners included Jack Johnson, Tash Sultana, David Gray and Iggy Pop.

Grey and Iggy Pop have been among those to enterprise further afield during April with exhibits in Sydney and Melbourne, beneath the BluesFest Touring banner, but Noble additionally works on tours throughout the year.

“Iggy Pop was the biggest tour so far this, with 9,199 tickets sold and prices starting at A$89[$62)”saysNoble[$62)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble

With greater than 40-years expertise in the business, Noble says now is a superb time to be within the enterprise regardless of the stiff competitors.

“It is a healthy business and a very exciting time, we are out there touring artistes at all levels from small clubs through to arenas,” he says. “We don’t want to end-up with two monopolies running the industry.”

Unbiased strengths

Also based mostly in Byron Bay, One World Entertainment (OWE) promotes throughout the region and runs touring pageant Beneath The Southern Stars.

Headlined by Hoodoo Gurus, it completed a six-city run in January, enjoying to round 5,000 individuals per night time. OWE also lately promoted a tour by Boyzone and is working on tours by Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers.

“The live market is as strong as it’s ever been for the right act placed in the right venue,” says OWE CEO Andrew McManus. “It all comes down to awareness of your product and the local market.”

Prime of the listing of his considerations, nevertheless, is the “user pays” scheme launched by New South Wales police that permits it to add additional safety to festivals at the cost of the occasion organiser.

McManus says, “It is crippling. Police can determine how many cops they insist on having at an event while charging anything north of A$124.00 [US] per hour for them, and this is on top of the security guards we are obligated to have,” he says. “Something has to give otherwise more and more festivals and outdoor concerts will be unable to proceed.”

James Brown, Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson and The Stranglers are among artistes to have been promoted by Lennard Promotions over the previous three many years. Among the artistes the company is selling are Billy Ocean, 10cc and Suzi Quatro.

“Due to a glut of international and local tours the market is saturated and discretionary spending is tight,” says Lennard Promotions founder Aldo Lennard. “The challenge is to ascertain the right ticket prices as fans can only attend a certain number of concerts per year, and as ticket prices rise due to escalating costs and Australian dollar devaluation, the task will continue to be difficult.”

Together with his rivals collaborating extra strongly than ever, Lennard says he’s also open to joint ventures.

Paying the proper worth

The Van Egmond Group (VEG) has worked with acts corresponding to Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Prince because it launched greater than 40 years ago.

MD Garry Van Egmond says the corporate is making a buoyant market, however he would additionally wish to see less ticket discounting.

On the again of widespread consolidation among his rivals, Egmond thinks it’s constructive improvement.

“We have seen a lot of strong partnerships take place with the independents in Australia, both with international players and local players, and we want to be part of it.”

Like Chugg and Egmond, Destroy All Strains (DAL) common manager of touring Chris O’Brien is worried at the prevalence of discounted tickets.

“It affects people’s buying patterns,” he says. “We have found a good percentage of them are waiting until the back end to see if they can get a cheaper ticket. We have spent a huge amount of energy training our ticket buyers that this will never happen with our tours.”

Regardless of the challenges, O’Brien says the corporate’s first quarter was the strongest up to now. In a mean yr it works on 40 tours, but this yr it’s on track to promote 60.

Aside excursions by rock, metallic and various acts reminiscent of Combichrist and The Damned, DAL organises the Good Things pageant, which takes place in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with a day by day capacity of 25,000.

Headliners this yr embrace The Offspring, All Time Low and Bullet For My Valentine.

O’Brien says it’s irritating that some artists do not prioritise Australia of their touring plans.

“A lot of artistes leave Australia late in their plans,” he says. “They get to a certain degree in the US or Europe after which anticipate the identical from their first go to to Australia.

“Trying to convince people that their artistes can have a long-term future in Australia can be a challenge.”

Constructing the longer term

After greater than nine years as CEO of the two,896-capacity Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Neil Croker launched live performance consultancy The Status Presents (TPP) in early 2017.

He says he has found it robust to seek out obtainable venues and shopper confidence could possibly be better.

“The market is always strong for the right product but it is generally patchy with consumer confidence low for most of this year, largely due to declining property values and the election period,” he says.

Among TPP’s current tasks was a nine-show tour of Quick Love – A Tribute To George Michael, which sold-out most of the venues, with capacities up to 2,00Zero and a mean ticket worth of A$69 (US$47).

“Following our first successful presentation of Fast Love, we have developed a co-promoting relationship with the show’s producers Entertainers UK that will see us tour more of their shows,” says Croker.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks (M&OP) manages public areas, parks and sporting amenities, in addition to the Rod Laver Area (16,000), Hisense Area (10,00Zero), Margaret Courtroom Area (7,500) and AAMI Park (30,050).

When the Rod Lever Area opened on the banks of the Yarra River in 1988 it was the first in Australia to have a retractable roof. Thirty years later the venue is conming to the top of a four-year, multi-million-dollar, redevelopment programme.

Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM) is a posh of theatres and concert halls within the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank that is to profit from a A$200m (US$137) local government funded overhaul.

Amongst its amenities is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and a 12,500-capacity amphitheatre. ACM additionally houses the Hamer Hall (2,464) and State Theatre (2,0850).

Nearly all of live shows at ACM take place on the Bowl, which has this yr hosted acts including Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Kylie Minogue and Tash Sultana.

“The [redevelopment] project will transform the area around the Arts Centre, creating new and renewed open public space, including an elevated pedestrian park and outdoor performance and event spaces,” says ACM director presenter providers Glen Hirst.

There isn’t a doubt the market remains constructive and dynamic, with intense competition between promoters on the prime finish, but what seems to be an increase in last-minute ticket discounting suggests some pricing may need readjusting.

The post Australia – Audience appeared first on Black Dot Mobile.

[lets-carameth]

Australia – Audience

Despite its comparatively small inhabitants unfold over, in some instances, hundreds of miles, and handful  of main cities, the market is remarkably robust and growing, with numerous exhibits at stadium degree, touring festivals and some very aggressive promoters.  Christopher Barrett stories

It isn’t be the simplest or least expensive nation to succeed in from Europe or the USA, and as soon as there it may be necessary to travel hundreds of miles between cities and throughout multiple time zones.

Nevertheless, for many who take the time and have an viewers there, it’s is a rustic with a robust financial system and a population with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for reside music.

The newest Ticket Attendance and Income report, revealed in October last yr by business physique Reside Efficiency Australia (LPA), paints an image of a market in exceptional shape.

Modern music ticket sales revenue in 2017 was up 87.7 per cent year-on-year to A$826.1 million (US$568), in response to the LPA, with attendance up 49.6 per cent over the same time-frame, to eight.5m.

It was the sector’s first yr of progress in income since 2013 and the very best revenue and attendance recorded for modern music since LPA began producing the report back in 2004.

Australia is a massively competitive market with quite a bit to play for and one which has seen vital consolidation this yr amongst a few of its foremost promoters.

In March, Frontier Touring founder Michael Gudinski and Chugg Entertainment boss Michael Chugg reunited to type a three way partnership some 40 years after they co-founded Frontier Touring (see Audience challenge 230). That they had cut up in 1999.

Only a month later the market noticed additional consolidation when AEG bought a 50 per cent stake in Frontier Touring. The AEG-Frontier venture cements a relationship that goes back 12 years, throughout which era Frontier promoted AEG tours in Australia and New Zealand.

Included within the deal is main venue operator AEG Ogden, which owns and operates Qudos Bank Area (cap. 21,389) in Sydney, Brisbane Leisure Centre (14,500), Perth Area (15,000), Newcastle Entertainment Centre (7,500) and the 9,000-capacity ICC Sydney Theatre.

The mixture of Frontier, Chugg, AEG Presents and globally formidable promoter AEG Presents is a big rival to Reside Nation Australia.

AEG Presents chief operating officer and CEO/chairman Jay Marciano, based mostly in Los Angeles, says that following the Frontier acquisition the corporate plans to develop a touring network of mid-sized venues across Australia (see Audience situation 231).

“There are not enough small clubs and theatres in Australia for international artistes to be able to have the 10 or more shows that make it affordable to make the journey there,” he says.

AEG Ogden group director Tim Worton says the Frontier and AEG Presents deal shall be good for the market.

“We expect there will be the potential for even more AEG product to come to Australia as a result of the joint venture, so that is a positive,” he says.

Worton also expects AEG Ogden to profit from the merging of multinational venue management corporations AEG Amenities and SMG to type ASM International.

“SMG does not have any venues in our market, but we will benefit from the resources of this expanded network of venues,” he says.

Worton describes the native market as being “extremely buoyant” with AEG’s venues having fun with very robust ticket gross sales for exhibits by acts together with Phil Collins, Keith City, Pink Scorching Chili Peppers, Pink and Hugh Jackman.

Nevertheless, he factors out that there are difficulties, not least the very fact the Australian dollar has fallen in value to its lowest degree in around a decade.

“Promoters face the challenge of rising artiste fees and show production costs in addition to a weaker Australian dollar and that puts pressure on ticket prices, it can push them to a level that endangers the ticket sales needed to make the tours stack up,” he says.

Report returns

Stay Nation Entertainment entered the Australian market when it acquired Michael Coppel Presents (MCP) in 2012, which on the time was the nation’s second largest promoter. Coppel is chairman of Reside Nation Australia (LNA).

Coppel says that is shaping up to be a report yr for LNA when it comes to the number of live shows and tickets bought.

In the spring LNA promoted Pink Scorching Chili Peppers’ first headline exhibits in Australia for 12 years, selling-out 12 arenas and open-air venues ranging in capacity from 12,00Zero to 35,00Zero. Around 176,657 tickets have been bought at costs ranging from A$101 to A$165 (US$70-115).

Among its different major excursions is Metallica, who will play eight stadium exhibits to a mixed audience of greater than 300,00Zero, with ticket prices from A$127 to A$250 (US$88-174).

U2 may even play eight stadium exhibits and a combined audience of 380,000.

“The market is two-paced; major headliners are doing great business but lesser names can struggle due to the high volume of competing tours and high ticket prices,” says Coppel.

At Reside Nation Leisure-owned Ticketmaster Australia a serious focus this yr has been shifting away from paperless tickets to a mobile-only service.

The Discussion board Melbourne (2,00Zero) turned the first venue in Australia to completely adopt the know-how and Ticketmaster has introduced paperless ticketing for all basic admission tickets for U2 exhibits.

“Fans want an easier and more secure ticketing system which fits seamlessly into their lives,” says Ticketmaster Australia & NZ MD Maria O’Connor,. “Not only will digital tickets simplify the entire ticketing process, it will also increase security, decrease fraud and unlock unprecedented value from customer relationships.”

The company just lately partnered with the new North Queensland Stadium (25,000) as its official ticketing agent. Opening in 2020, Elton John will carry out there in February.

“Live entertainment across Australia and New Zealand has never been stronger,” says O’Connor. “We’re seeing new venues being built around the country and further expansion into regional areas to cope with demand and further enhance the live experience.”

Michaels reunited

Michael Gudinski founded the Mushroom Group in 1972 and seven years later launched Frontier Touring as part of the group. Among the many acts it has worked with are Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. Forthcoming exhibits embrace The Chemical Brothers and Shawn Mendes.

Frontier Touring’s three way partnership with Chugg Entertainment means the 2 operations now co-promote all Chugg tours, whereas Frontier has also joined Chugg and Potts Leisure as a companion in country music pageant CMC Rocks (24,00Zero).

Gudinski says it’s great to be working with Chugg once more and factors out it is rather much a partnership not an acquisition.

“It is not the band getting back together, Chugg is not part of Frontier, but Frontier is right behind him,” he says.

The veteran promoter says the cope with AEG does not imply the top of Frontier as an unbiased company.

“We are adding staff, going strong, and hopefully AEG will deliver more tours. We are thinking of the future,” he says.

Michael Chugg founded Chugg Leisure in 2000, touring acts corresponding to Coldplay, Radiohead, The Who and Florence + The Machine.

Chugg promotes around 600 exhibits per yr and its key tours this yr embrace Australian and New Zealand exhibits with Elton John, with 460,00Zero tickets bought for 31 exhibits, with prices ranging from A$139 to A$339 (US$97-237).

The company is finding environment friendly methods to market exhibits by way of digital platforms but Chugg factors out that traditional media stays vitally necessary. For its largest excursions the company makes use of radio, TV and outside promoting and has been recognized to supply particular TV and radio programming.

“When we sell-out we continue to promote the tours as it makes people aware of the act and their success,” he says. “Nothing frustrates our team more than seeing social media posts like ‘Oh dear, I’m a huge fan of … but I didn’t know they were here in Oz’.”

Chugg says ticket gross sales for his firm’s exhibits are usually robust however he doesn’t like other promoters decreasing prices for exhibits that aren’t selling nicely.

“We feel it must be really frustrating for fans when they pay full price and end up next to someone who paid as little as 25 per cent of the real ticket price,” he says.

Consolidating energy

Another veteran Australian concert promoter is Paul Dainty, who started organising exhibits in the early 1970s, working with David Bowie, U2, Michael Jackson and Miley Cyrus along the best way.

TEG Dainty was shaped in 2016 when TEG, which owns the country’s largest ticket agency Ticketek, acquired Dainty Group Worldwide, which had been owned and operated independently by Dainty. In a mean yr the company promotes round 200 live shows.

He says the Australian market could be very robust and his company had an “amazing” start to the yr with Phil Collins’s Not Lifeless But: Reside! tour.

“We sold-out 11 shows in stadiums and arenas across Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “On one night we had Phil at AAMI Park [30,000] in Melbourne and Slash at Margaret Court Arena [7,500] literally across the road at the same time.”

One other firm spotlight was Eminem’s The Rapture 2019 tour in February, with five sold-out exhibits throughout Australia and New Zealand collectively attracting 304,Zero16 followers.

“We set new concert attendance records at the MCG Melbourne, with 80,708,” says Dainty.

TEG Dainty just lately introduced a 10-show stadium tour by Queen + Adam Lambert and can also be working on 28-date area tour by Hugh Jackman.

Noble ventures

Founder and director of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest (25,00Zero) Peter Noble is among the last remaining really unbiased established promoters.

Ticket costs for the annual five-day Bluesfest, held in April, ranged from A$160 to A$700 (US$112-490). Headliners included Jack Johnson, Tash Sultana, David Gray and Iggy Pop.

Grey and Iggy Pop have been among those to enterprise further afield during April with exhibits in Sydney and Melbourne, beneath the BluesFest Touring banner, but Noble additionally works on tours throughout the year.

“Iggy Pop was the biggest tour so far this, with 9,199 tickets sold and prices starting at A$89[$62)”saysNoble[$62)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble

With greater than 40-years expertise in the business, Noble says now is a superb time to be within the enterprise regardless of the stiff competitors.

“It is a healthy business and a very exciting time, we are out there touring artistes at all levels from small clubs through to arenas,” he says. “We don’t want to end-up with two monopolies running the industry.”

Unbiased strengths

Also based mostly in Byron Bay, One World Entertainment (OWE) promotes throughout the region and runs touring pageant Beneath The Southern Stars.

Headlined by Hoodoo Gurus, it completed a six-city run in January, enjoying to round 5,000 individuals per night time. OWE also lately promoted a tour by Boyzone and is working on tours by Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers.

“The live market is as strong as it’s ever been for the right act placed in the right venue,” says OWE CEO Andrew McManus. “It all comes down to awareness of your product and the local market.”

Prime of the listing of his considerations, nevertheless, is the “user pays” scheme launched by New South Wales police that permits it to add additional safety to festivals at the cost of the occasion organiser.

McManus says, “It is crippling. Police can determine how many cops they insist on having at an event while charging anything north of A$124.00 [US] per hour for them, and this is on top of the security guards we are obligated to have,” he says. “Something has to give otherwise more and more festivals and outdoor concerts will be unable to proceed.”

James Brown, Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson and The Stranglers are among artistes to have been promoted by Lennard Promotions over the previous three many years. Among the artistes the company is selling are Billy Ocean, 10cc and Suzi Quatro.

“Due to a glut of international and local tours the market is saturated and discretionary spending is tight,” says Lennard Promotions founder Aldo Lennard. “The challenge is to ascertain the right ticket prices as fans can only attend a certain number of concerts per year, and as ticket prices rise due to escalating costs and Australian dollar devaluation, the task will continue to be difficult.”

Together with his rivals collaborating extra strongly than ever, Lennard says he’s also open to joint ventures.

Paying the proper worth

The Van Egmond Group (VEG) has worked with acts corresponding to Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Prince because it launched greater than 40 years ago.

MD Garry Van Egmond says the corporate is making a buoyant market, however he would additionally wish to see less ticket discounting.

On the again of widespread consolidation among his rivals, Egmond thinks it’s constructive improvement.

“We have seen a lot of strong partnerships take place with the independents in Australia, both with international players and local players, and we want to be part of it.”

Like Chugg and Egmond, Destroy All Strains (DAL) common manager of touring Chris O’Brien is worried at the prevalence of discounted tickets.

“It affects people’s buying patterns,” he says. “We have found a good percentage of them are waiting until the back end to see if they can get a cheaper ticket. We have spent a huge amount of energy training our ticket buyers that this will never happen with our tours.”

Regardless of the challenges, O’Brien says the corporate’s first quarter was the strongest up to now. In a mean yr it works on 40 tours, but this yr it’s on track to promote 60.

Aside excursions by rock, metallic and various acts reminiscent of Combichrist and The Damned, DAL organises the Good Things pageant, which takes place in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with a day by day capacity of 25,000.

Headliners this yr embrace The Offspring, All Time Low and Bullet For My Valentine.

O’Brien says it’s irritating that some artists do not prioritise Australia of their touring plans.

“A lot of artistes leave Australia late in their plans,” he says. “They get to a certain degree in the US or Europe after which anticipate the identical from their first go to to Australia.

“Trying to convince people that their artistes can have a long-term future in Australia can be a challenge.”

Constructing the longer term

After greater than nine years as CEO of the two,896-capacity Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Neil Croker launched live performance consultancy The Status Presents (TPP) in early 2017.

He says he has found it robust to seek out obtainable venues and shopper confidence could possibly be better.

“The market is always strong for the right product but it is generally patchy with consumer confidence low for most of this year, largely due to declining property values and the election period,” he says.

Among TPP’s current tasks was a nine-show tour of Quick Love – A Tribute To George Michael, which sold-out most of the venues, with capacities up to 2,00Zero and a mean ticket worth of A$69 (US$47).

“Following our first successful presentation of Fast Love, we have developed a co-promoting relationship with the show’s producers Entertainers UK that will see us tour more of their shows,” says Croker.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks (M&OP) manages public areas, parks and sporting amenities, in addition to the Rod Laver Area (16,000), Hisense Area (10,00Zero), Margaret Courtroom Area (7,500) and AAMI Park (30,050).

When the Rod Lever Area opened on the banks of the Yarra River in 1988 it was the first in Australia to have a retractable roof. Thirty years later the venue is conming to the top of a four-year, multi-million-dollar, redevelopment programme.

Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM) is a posh of theatres and concert halls within the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank that is to profit from a A$200m (US$137) local government funded overhaul.

Amongst its amenities is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and a 12,500-capacity amphitheatre. ACM additionally houses the Hamer Hall (2,464) and State Theatre (2,0850).

Nearly all of live shows at ACM take place on the Bowl, which has this yr hosted acts including Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Kylie Minogue and Tash Sultana.

“The [redevelopment] project will transform the area around the Arts Centre, creating new and renewed open public space, including an elevated pedestrian park and outdoor performance and event spaces,” says ACM director presenter providers Glen Hirst.

There isn’t a doubt the market remains constructive and dynamic, with intense competition between promoters on the prime finish, but what seems to be an increase in last-minute ticket discounting suggests some pricing may need readjusting.

The post Australia – Audience appeared first on Black Dot Mobile.

[omgxfireicewolfx-blog]

Australia – Audience

Despite its comparatively small inhabitants unfold over, in some instances, hundreds of miles, and handful  of main cities, the market is remarkably robust and growing, with numerous exhibits at stadium degree, touring festivals and some very aggressive promoters.  Christopher Barrett stories

It isn’t be the simplest or least expensive nation to succeed in from Europe or the USA, and as soon as there it may be necessary to travel hundreds of miles between cities and throughout multiple time zones.

Nevertheless, for many who take the time and have an viewers there, it’s is a rustic with a robust financial system and a population with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for reside music.

The newest Ticket Attendance and Income report, revealed in October last yr by business physique Reside Efficiency Australia (LPA), paints an image of a market in exceptional shape.

Modern music ticket sales revenue in 2017 was up 87.7 per cent year-on-year to A$826.1 million (US$568), in response to the LPA, with attendance up 49.6 per cent over the same time-frame, to eight.5m.

It was the sector’s first yr of progress in income since 2013 and the very best revenue and attendance recorded for modern music since LPA began producing the report back in 2004.

Australia is a massively competitive market with quite a bit to play for and one which has seen vital consolidation this yr amongst a few of its foremost promoters.

In March, Frontier Touring founder Michael Gudinski and Chugg Entertainment boss Michael Chugg reunited to type a three way partnership some 40 years after they co-founded Frontier Touring (see Audience challenge 230). That they had cut up in 1999.

Only a month later the market noticed additional consolidation when AEG bought a 50 per cent stake in Frontier Touring. The AEG-Frontier venture cements a relationship that goes back 12 years, throughout which era Frontier promoted AEG tours in Australia and New Zealand.

Included within the deal is main venue operator AEG Ogden, which owns and operates Qudos Bank Area (cap. 21,389) in Sydney, Brisbane Leisure Centre (14,500), Perth Area (15,000), Newcastle Entertainment Centre (7,500) and the 9,000-capacity ICC Sydney Theatre.

The mixture of Frontier, Chugg, AEG Presents and globally formidable promoter AEG Presents is a big rival to Reside Nation Australia.

AEG Presents chief operating officer and CEO/chairman Jay Marciano, based mostly in Los Angeles, says that following the Frontier acquisition the corporate plans to develop a touring network of mid-sized venues across Australia (see Audience situation 231).

“There are not enough small clubs and theatres in Australia for international artistes to be able to have the 10 or more shows that make it affordable to make the journey there,” he says.

AEG Ogden group director Tim Worton says the Frontier and AEG Presents deal shall be good for the market.

“We expect there will be the potential for even more AEG product to come to Australia as a result of the joint venture, so that is a positive,” he says.

Worton also expects AEG Ogden to profit from the merging of multinational venue management corporations AEG Amenities and SMG to type ASM International.

“SMG does not have any venues in our market, but we will benefit from the resources of this expanded network of venues,” he says.

Worton describes the native market as being “extremely buoyant” with AEG’s venues having fun with very robust ticket gross sales for exhibits by acts together with Phil Collins, Keith City, Pink Scorching Chili Peppers, Pink and Hugh Jackman.

Nevertheless, he factors out that there are difficulties, not least the very fact the Australian dollar has fallen in value to its lowest degree in around a decade.

“Promoters face the challenge of rising artiste fees and show production costs in addition to a weaker Australian dollar and that puts pressure on ticket prices, it can push them to a level that endangers the ticket sales needed to make the tours stack up,” he says.

Report returns

Stay Nation Entertainment entered the Australian market when it acquired Michael Coppel Presents (MCP) in 2012, which on the time was the nation’s second largest promoter. Coppel is chairman of Reside Nation Australia (LNA).

Coppel says that is shaping up to be a report yr for LNA when it comes to the number of live shows and tickets bought.

In the spring LNA promoted Pink Scorching Chili Peppers’ first headline exhibits in Australia for 12 years, selling-out 12 arenas and open-air venues ranging in capacity from 12,00Zero to 35,00Zero. Around 176,657 tickets have been bought at costs ranging from A$101 to A$165 (US$70-115).

Among its different major excursions is Metallica, who will play eight stadium exhibits to a mixed audience of greater than 300,00Zero, with ticket prices from A$127 to A$250 (US$88-174).

U2 may even play eight stadium exhibits and a combined audience of 380,000.

“The market is two-paced; major headliners are doing great business but lesser names can struggle due to the high volume of competing tours and high ticket prices,” says Coppel.

At Reside Nation Leisure-owned Ticketmaster Australia a serious focus this yr has been shifting away from paperless tickets to a mobile-only service.

The Discussion board Melbourne (2,00Zero) turned the first venue in Australia to completely adopt the know-how and Ticketmaster has introduced paperless ticketing for all basic admission tickets for U2 exhibits.

“Fans want an easier and more secure ticketing system which fits seamlessly into their lives,” says Ticketmaster Australia & NZ MD Maria O’Connor,. “Not only will digital tickets simplify the entire ticketing process, it will also increase security, decrease fraud and unlock unprecedented value from customer relationships.”

The company just lately partnered with the new North Queensland Stadium (25,000) as its official ticketing agent. Opening in 2020, Elton John will carry out there in February.

“Live entertainment across Australia and New Zealand has never been stronger,” says O’Connor. “We’re seeing new venues being built around the country and further expansion into regional areas to cope with demand and further enhance the live experience.”

Michaels reunited

Michael Gudinski founded the Mushroom Group in 1972 and seven years later launched Frontier Touring as part of the group. Among the many acts it has worked with are Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. Forthcoming exhibits embrace The Chemical Brothers and Shawn Mendes.

Frontier Touring’s three way partnership with Chugg Entertainment means the 2 operations now co-promote all Chugg tours, whereas Frontier has also joined Chugg and Potts Leisure as a companion in country music pageant CMC Rocks (24,00Zero).

Gudinski says it’s great to be working with Chugg once more and factors out it is rather much a partnership not an acquisition.

“It is not the band getting back together, Chugg is not part of Frontier, but Frontier is right behind him,” he says.

The veteran promoter says the cope with AEG does not imply the top of Frontier as an unbiased company.

“We are adding staff, going strong, and hopefully AEG will deliver more tours. We are thinking of the future,” he says.

Michael Chugg founded Chugg Leisure in 2000, touring acts corresponding to Coldplay, Radiohead, The Who and Florence + The Machine.

Chugg promotes around 600 exhibits per yr and its key tours this yr embrace Australian and New Zealand exhibits with Elton John, with 460,00Zero tickets bought for 31 exhibits, with prices ranging from A$139 to A$339 (US$97-237).

The company is finding environment friendly methods to market exhibits by way of digital platforms but Chugg factors out that traditional media stays vitally necessary. For its largest excursions the company makes use of radio, TV and outside promoting and has been recognized to supply particular TV and radio programming.

“When we sell-out we continue to promote the tours as it makes people aware of the act and their success,” he says. “Nothing frustrates our team more than seeing social media posts like ‘Oh dear, I’m a huge fan of … but I didn’t know they were here in Oz’.”

Chugg says ticket gross sales for his firm’s exhibits are usually robust however he doesn’t like other promoters decreasing prices for exhibits that aren’t selling nicely.

“We feel it must be really frustrating for fans when they pay full price and end up next to someone who paid as little as 25 per cent of the real ticket price,” he says.

Consolidating energy

Another veteran Australian concert promoter is Paul Dainty, who started organising exhibits in the early 1970s, working with David Bowie, U2, Michael Jackson and Miley Cyrus along the best way.

TEG Dainty was shaped in 2016 when TEG, which owns the country’s largest ticket agency Ticketek, acquired Dainty Group Worldwide, which had been owned and operated independently by Dainty. In a mean yr the company promotes round 200 live shows.

He says the Australian market could be very robust and his company had an “amazing” start to the yr with Phil Collins’s Not Lifeless But: Reside! tour.

“We sold-out 11 shows in stadiums and arenas across Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “On one night we had Phil at AAMI Park [30,000] in Melbourne and Slash at Margaret Court Arena [7,500] literally across the road at the same time.”

One other firm spotlight was Eminem’s The Rapture 2019 tour in February, with five sold-out exhibits throughout Australia and New Zealand collectively attracting 304,Zero16 followers.

“We set new concert attendance records at the MCG Melbourne, with 80,708,” says Dainty.

TEG Dainty just lately introduced a 10-show stadium tour by Queen + Adam Lambert and can also be working on 28-date area tour by Hugh Jackman.

Noble ventures

Founder and director of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest (25,00Zero) Peter Noble is among the last remaining really unbiased established promoters.

Ticket costs for the annual five-day Bluesfest, held in April, ranged from A$160 to A$700 (US$112-490). Headliners included Jack Johnson, Tash Sultana, David Gray and Iggy Pop.

Grey and Iggy Pop have been among those to enterprise further afield during April with exhibits in Sydney and Melbourne, beneath the BluesFest Touring banner, but Noble additionally works on tours throughout the year.

“Iggy Pop was the biggest tour so far this, with 9,199 tickets sold and prices starting at A$89[$62)”saysNoble[$62)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble[)”saysNoble

With greater than 40-years expertise in the business, Noble says now is a superb time to be within the enterprise regardless of the stiff competitors.

“It is a healthy business and a very exciting time, we are out there touring artistes at all levels from small clubs through to arenas,” he says. “We don’t want to end-up with two monopolies running the industry.”

Unbiased strengths

Also based mostly in Byron Bay, One World Entertainment (OWE) promotes throughout the region and runs touring pageant Beneath The Southern Stars.

Headlined by Hoodoo Gurus, it completed a six-city run in January, enjoying to round 5,000 individuals per night time. OWE also lately promoted a tour by Boyzone and is working on tours by Kris Kristofferson and The Strangers.

“The live market is as strong as it’s ever been for the right act placed in the right venue,” says OWE CEO Andrew McManus. “It all comes down to awareness of your product and the local market.”

Prime of the listing of his considerations, nevertheless, is the “user pays” scheme launched by New South Wales police that permits it to add additional safety to festivals at the cost of the occasion organiser.

McManus says, “It is crippling. Police can determine how many cops they insist on having at an event while charging anything north of A$124.00 [US] per hour for them, and this is on top of the security guards we are obligated to have,” he says. “Something has to give otherwise more and more festivals and outdoor concerts will be unable to proceed.”

James Brown, Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson and The Stranglers are among artistes to have been promoted by Lennard Promotions over the previous three many years. Among the artistes the company is selling are Billy Ocean, 10cc and Suzi Quatro.

“Due to a glut of international and local tours the market is saturated and discretionary spending is tight,” says Lennard Promotions founder Aldo Lennard. “The challenge is to ascertain the right ticket prices as fans can only attend a certain number of concerts per year, and as ticket prices rise due to escalating costs and Australian dollar devaluation, the task will continue to be difficult.”

Together with his rivals collaborating extra strongly than ever, Lennard says he’s also open to joint ventures.

Paying the proper worth

The Van Egmond Group (VEG) has worked with acts corresponding to Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Prince because it launched greater than 40 years ago.

MD Garry Van Egmond says the corporate is making a buoyant market, however he would additionally wish to see less ticket discounting.

On the again of widespread consolidation among his rivals, Egmond thinks it’s constructive improvement.

“We have seen a lot of strong partnerships take place with the independents in Australia, both with international players and local players, and we want to be part of it.”

Like Chugg and Egmond, Destroy All Strains (DAL) common manager of touring Chris O’Brien is worried at the prevalence of discounted tickets.

“It affects people’s buying patterns,” he says. “We have found a good percentage of them are waiting until the back end to see if they can get a cheaper ticket. We have spent a huge amount of energy training our ticket buyers that this will never happen with our tours.”

Regardless of the challenges, O’Brien says the corporate’s first quarter was the strongest up to now. In a mean yr it works on 40 tours, but this yr it’s on track to promote 60.

Aside excursions by rock, metallic and various acts reminiscent of Combichrist and The Damned, DAL organises the Good Things pageant, which takes place in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with a day by day capacity of 25,000.

Headliners this yr embrace The Offspring, All Time Low and Bullet For My Valentine.

O’Brien says it’s irritating that some artists do not prioritise Australia of their touring plans.

“A lot of artistes leave Australia late in their plans,” he says. “They get to a certain degree in the US or Europe after which anticipate the identical from their first go to to Australia.

“Trying to convince people that their artistes can have a long-term future in Australia can be a challenge.”

Constructing the longer term

After greater than nine years as CEO of the two,896-capacity Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Neil Croker launched live performance consultancy The Status Presents (TPP) in early 2017.

He says he has found it robust to seek out obtainable venues and shopper confidence could possibly be better.

“The market is always strong for the right product but it is generally patchy with consumer confidence low for most of this year, largely due to declining property values and the election period,” he says.

Among TPP’s current tasks was a nine-show tour of Quick Love – A Tribute To George Michael, which sold-out most of the venues, with capacities up to 2,00Zero and a mean ticket worth of A$69 (US$47).

“Following our first successful presentation of Fast Love, we have developed a co-promoting relationship with the show’s producers Entertainers UK that will see us tour more of their shows,” says Croker.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks (M&OP) manages public areas, parks and sporting amenities, in addition to the Rod Laver Area (16,000), Hisense Area (10,00Zero), Margaret Courtroom Area (7,500) and AAMI Park (30,050).

When the Rod Lever Area opened on the banks of the Yarra River in 1988 it was the first in Australia to have a retractable roof. Thirty years later the venue is conming to the top of a four-year, multi-million-dollar, redevelopment programme.

Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM) is a posh of theatres and concert halls within the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank that is to profit from a A$200m (US$137) local government funded overhaul.

Amongst its amenities is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and a 12,500-capacity amphitheatre. ACM additionally houses the Hamer Hall (2,464) and State Theatre (2,0850).

Nearly all of live shows at ACM take place on the Bowl, which has this yr hosted acts including Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Kylie Minogue and Tash Sultana.

“The [redevelopment] project will transform the area around the Arts Centre, creating new and renewed open public space, including an elevated pedestrian park and outdoor performance and event spaces,” says ACM director presenter providers Glen Hirst.

There isn’t a doubt the market remains constructive and dynamic, with intense competition between promoters on the prime finish, but what seems to be an increase in last-minute ticket discounting suggests some pricing may need readjusting.

The post Australia – Audience appeared first on Black Dot Mobile.

[medzarh]

Liked on YouTube: Songs for September- A Mellow Indie /Folk/ Fall Playlist ,2017 ( part one )

Songs for September- A Mellow Indie /Folk/ Fall Playlist ,2017 ( part one ) I DO NOT own rights to any of these songs, or the images used. -**All artist names, track times and titles listed in the description below** -Hi there! I hope you are having a great day so far. I am not sure if fall is returning to your homeland (or if you even experience the red and golden season where you are) , but I, for one, am super excited about it. My very favourite season, is fall :) Anywho, I hope you enjoy this playlist some. Please check out the bottom of the description to find out about today's specially featured recording artists. Thank you so much for listening. Peace out for now- Mr.FF 0:00- Dave Thomas Junior- If Things Had Gone Our Way 3:28- Jesse Taylor- Run Run Runaway 5:57- Aaron Krause- Love Alive 10:13- ***The Hunter Express- Home *** 14:17- Zack Buchanan - Little River 17:41- River Matthews- Undo Ordinary 22:25- Craig Cardiff - Dirty Old Town 26:30- Donovan Woods - Portland, Maine 29:58- Robby Hecht- Stars 34:22- sonofdov- Ghost On Fire 37:26- Júníus Meyvant - Gold Laces 41:07- ***Hayes & Conner - No Need To Feel Wrong*** 43:41- ***The Rabbitts- Tree Swing*** 47:18- The Lake Poets – Your Face 50:26- ***Elenya- Light Years Away*** 54:43- The Crows Fly - We All Cry Sometimes 58:06- Ira Wolf - One More Chance 1:02:16- Billy Lockett - Hands Tied  1:05:28- Declan J Donovan - Better 1:08:51- Joshua Hyslop - Nowhere Left To Go  1:12:34- Mat Hunsley - To Being Free 1:16:06- The Hunter Express- Bluestone Lane 1:20:00- David Stone- Old Coat 1:23:35- Thorin Loeks - Coming Home 1:29:26- ***Hayesville – Serenading Trees*** 1:33:10- Deer Tick- Dirty Dishes - First photo shown by Lukasz Szmigiel: http://ift.tt/2y0FuVn. I don't have enough room to list the other links. Let me know if you want them :) ****The Hunter Express is the musical project of singer- songwriter Brad Ellis from Melbourne, Australia. His wonderful track, “Bluestone Lane”, is from his 2016 EP of the same name. Brad is set to release his first LP later this year (late October, 2017). You can find Brad's Bluestone EP as well as his amazing single, “Home” ,on his (The Hunter Express's ) Spotify and Soundcloud pages, and he is also on YouTube and Instagram. Here are The Hunter's links for you : Official: http://ift.tt/2h4FqRf Spotify: http://ift.tt/2xZUXFd Soundcloud: http://ift.tt/2h3Xwmh : Instagram: http://ift.tt/2xZVyGT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwTt-uuJRbC7Cjyb247QcOw ****Hayes & Conner are independent musicians from Chicago, IL. Their awesome track, “No Need To Feel Wrong “, is from their 2014 album, 'Talking To Myself'. You can find their album on their Spotify, Soundcloud and YouTube pages, and for purchase on Itunes. Here are some links to the duo's major sites: Offical: http://ift.tt/1B9jZBe Spotify : http://ift.tt/2y0tpiW Soundcloud: http://ift.tt/2h3XwTj Itunes: http://ift.tt/2y01AaB YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/hayesandconner Twitter: https://twitter.com/hayesandconner Facebook: http://ift.tt/2h3Xxql ***The Rabbitts are an Indie folk duo (and couple :) from the UK, living in Vancouver, BC. They recently released their lovely debut EP in May . You can find more about the duo on Facebook and their official site, and listen to their EP on Spotify and Youtube : Official: http://ift.tt/2y0o6Ah Spotify: http://ift.tt/2h4FtfT Facebook: http://ift.tt/2y0FpRz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPwl7HbHakPSMOK3jYxop8g/about ***Elenya is an singer -songwriter from London, UK. You can find her on Facebook , Twitter and YouTube, and her beautiful EP ,'Light Years Away' ,is now available to stream and download on Spotify and iTunes: Spotify :http://ift.tt/2h4FujX http://ift.tt/2y04xYL https://twitter.com/elenyaaaa Itunes: http://ift.tt/2h3XxXn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/elenya ***Hayesville is an singer-songwriter from Sweden (living in Cologne, Germany) who mixes traditional folk sound with modern influence, and whose lyrics are infused with dark humour , poignancy and wit . His gorgeous track, “Serenading Trees” , is from his 2017 EP, “ A House” . You can download or stream his EP on Bandcamp. You can also find the singer on Facebook and Instagram: Bandcamp: http://ift.tt/2y06uEu Facebook : http://ift.tt/2h4Fvo1 Instagram: http://ift.tt/2y0bZmu -Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to / read all this. Have a fabulous day and a stupendous fall! Catch ya soon 4 part 2 (I hope :) via YouTube https://youtu.be/5IMrNaobGVo

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Predict the Unpredictable

WHO knows what’s going on?

As Jimmy Bartel put it after Mitch McGovern slotted the tying goal last Sunday, “is this season for real?”

There’s little point trying to anticipate or guess what’s coming up because each and every week we are further proven wrong by stuff you just would not have seen coming.

The perfect way to sum it up is for years now, by this time of the season, we’re having that conversation that the season is too long, there are too many meaningless games, we’re all suffering home and away lag craving for the finalists/contenders to sort out a premier because we knew the two or three best teams months ago.

This year, not at all, every round feels fresh and exciting and as for those laying claim to being serious Grand Finalists, um, we could provide some teams this week but the list might look totally different as early as next.

It’s fantastic.

 1.    Let’s get the Patrick Dangerfield stuff out of the way up top. Yesterday he accepted the sanction, and he had to, it is a team sport after all and because of the way the rules are set up, the concussion that was suffered, he had no grounds to appeal. And because of the Cam McCarthy suspension which was the most alike, he was always in trouble. Now should either player have sat out a week, no, that tackle should not warrant a suspension, but that’s a question on the rule, not the ruling applied here.

 2.    Jimmy Bartel made a good point Sunday afternoon on television, suggesting that from a Brownlow eligibility perspective there should be greater emphasis on penalising non-football acts (strikes, trips, behind play incidents) than things like tackles gone wrong or accidents in the act of playing. That would then mean incidents like Dangerfield’s tackle might be ok, but Toby Greene-style sniping would definitely still matter. Further interesting given that Bartel is a MRP sitting member too.

 3.    So we now face a potentially mega awkward scenario Brownlow night. At least when poor Chris Grant missed out, he wasn’t in the room. Not only will Dangerfield be in the room but as last year’s winner he will present the medal to Dustin Martin after a vote count he probably finishes first. To make matters worse, what if Richmond bundle out of the finals prior the big dance leaving Martin officially on the market with a decision to make when he wins? Or worst still, Martin, having already had two fines this year, does something so minor he gets fined again in the next month and thus misses a week, meaning both first and second are ineligible. How bizarre?

 4.    Been a while since we whacked Damien Barrett but it feels good to do so again and reasonably up front in this week’s column. Barrett on his regular Monday Triple M slot when asked if Geelong and Dangerfield should appeal he responded with “I think he should”. Firstly, who made you an important voice, or the Geelong Footy Manager, and secondly why should he, whether you think that deserves a week or not, he had no grounds to amend the ruling unfortunately. Give us something Damo.

 5.    Lastly on the media, and we’ve potted Barrett, now let’s pot the Media Worst on Ground for 2017, Mark Robinson. Wrote a column for yesterday’s paper suggesting that “when Patrick Dangerfield polls the most votes on Brownlow Medal night, the AFL will be embarrassed”. Why? Because of the unfortunate event they made the winner ineligible because of a rule they’ve had all year, again rightly or wrongly? Or because it feels bad that the winner misses out? What if it was Nakia Cockatoo who made that tackle, would you care as much then Robbo? Or are you letting emotion cloud sound judgement again? Or perhaps pushing double standards? Either way you need to take your hand off it please.

 6.    But on-field, how great’s the season? Hawks-Swans Friday was fantastic, everything on Saturday afternoon was stellar, especially the ending to the Power-Saints game, then we had two mega Sunday fixtures, the shootout at Etihad and then the game of two halves at the MCG. This is happening weekly and the statistics on the season’s closeness and randomness go on and on. No complaints here.

 7.    Nick Riewoldt, what a champion. The most games as captain for St Kilda, second most games played, the third most goals. Six time Best and Fairest, five time All-Australian. Probably the best centre-half forward after Wayne Carey of recent times, sure, Jonathon Brown, Lance Franklin, it’s an elite bunch, but for everything ‘Roo’ is and what he has done, he is my pick. Walk up Hall of Famer for sure.

 8.    Bloody hell the GWS are on the skids. Aside from their biggish win over Brisbane a few weeks back, since their victory over Sydney in Round 5 they’ve actually been rather poor by their lofty standards and ambitions. In the twelve games since (again, Lions match aside) they have six wins and two draws with a 98.55% percentage. That’s fledgling mid table stuff. And sure, they’ve had injuries, they’ll get some back, but they better hurry up – this team was two and a half kicks down to Freo, at home, at the start of the last term.

 9.    Got to hand it to Alistair Clarkson. Where other coaches of perhaps other, underachieving Melbourne clubs won’t, he has reinvented his side on the run from the poorest of poor starts into amongst the most in-form sides of the competition, if not the most in-form after perhaps the Crows or Swans. To see James Sicily go from being in-and-out of the side as a key forward to a midfield, behind the ball success story, seeing Jack Gunston go from number one inside 50 target to onball accumulator, he even has found success with a backline of essentially a crèche plus Luke Hodge. Brilliant coaching, brilliant agility of utilising personnel in different roles, making proactive changes, and the proof is in the pudding. Two months ago the Mitchell and Lewis decisions were awful, now they are genius.

 10.  So who gets eighth spot? Dead set going to be musical chairs? Right now West Coast hold serve but you still think Essendon or the Bulldogs will grab it, primarily because who can rely on favourites holding out the rest of the season in forecasting a final ladder? What we do know is that if a team, be it the Eagles or Bombers as an example, are able to put together a really nice August and claim a finals spot, the form that got them in might be the sort of form to do damage once September kicks off, a 2016-Bulldogs ‘lite’, if you will.

 11.  Daniel Wells will get the three votes on Sunday you’d think (Mitch McGovern was indeed huge, and we’ll touch on him next), and his record this year will frustrate Nathan Buckley no end. Wells has played exactly half the season thus far, and when he has played the Pies are six wins and a draw from nine games, with 114%. Without, one win from nine games, with 81%. It’s once again a year of excuses for the Pies, but a fitter Wells is worth another win or two, they’re probably a game out of the eight and fighting for finals and not languishing in 13th.

 12.  Mitch McGovern is jacking his price up big time. Four great goals, but more importantly was his workrate and hands on Sunday, and to be fair this season. Gets back to be part of the team defence but works really hard to be that option deep on a fast break. But also, a great size to be an aerial target, a great leap with a strong grip. Out of contract, the lure of going home to play with his brother will be there, plus there’s cash for him from Melbourne clubs too. The Crows will have a battle to keep him. Mind you, he is benefiting from the best two opposition defenders going to Taylor Walker and Josh Jenkins, keep that in mind.

 13.  The other battle the Crows will have in terms of a signature is Jake Lever. When Dustin Martin is getting offers, we believe, around the 1.2, 1.3m per year, to hear offers not too much inferior for a 49-game intercept defender, it is amazing. But his talent looks well validated aside and where should he want to stay you think the money will be there for him, it wouldn’t shock to see one or two Melbourne clubs press so hard he chooses to return home. If not, he will be turning down millions.

 14.  Really thinking the North Melbourne offers to Josh Kelly and Dustin Martin should be taken seriously. They have definitely, definitely committed verbal offers to both with almost unmatchable, unbeatable term and dollars. And you look at what they’ve done, sure, they’re not the lure of a big, brash Melbourne club like an Essendon or Collingwood, but you can see the makings of a side this year, despite sitting near the bottom, that gets back into the eight soon and with one or both additions, wowee, you got to concede some enthusiasm about the club’s outlook.

 15.  Two schools of thought going around for Collingwood’s coaching fiasco – one, they go and poach a rival club’s coach or go all out for Paul Roos and just make something happen, or, and this is getting more and more traction sadly, they do a 2016 Richmond, keep the coach but re-do the entire footy department around him and reset for a fresh tilt with the same main man at the helm.

 16.  Do we rate the Bulldogs chances should they make the finals? Unsure. Maybe get Tom Campbell, Matty Boyd, Tom Boyd, Jake Stringer back into that side, get some continuity into the group with as few changes week to week, and this is a team that knows how to win finals. But is that largely on blind hope, blissful optimism all because of what we’ve seen last year and little to what we’ve seen this year?

 17.  All-Australian Ruckman watch, and queue some potential bias, but stick with. Three main contenders at this stage, Sam Jacobs, Paddy Ryder and Brodie Grundy. Jacobs is averaging 40 hitouts, 15 touches and three tackles a game, Ryder is going at 36, 13 and two. For Grundy, he is doing 37, 18 and four and interestingly, is in the top ten in the league for stoppage clearances, the same as Josh Kennedy and Olli Wines, no other ruckman comes close. For what it’s worth, for those Blues’ supporters, Kreuzer is averaging 31, 15 and five.

 18.  Three big games this weekend, and we start with the Dangerfield-less Geelong hosting Sydney down at Sleepy Hollow. Sydney have not lost two in a row since Rounds Five and Six, and will be hell bent on taking a big scalp before September. This column has remained unconvinced on the Cats all season, and without their best player they are as vulnerable as a dopey sea lion during Shark Week on Foxtel.

 19.  Sunday is stellar for those looking to put a good innings together on the couch, and it starts with Richmond and Hawthorn at the ‘G. Should be a big crowd and there’s a lot on the line, especially for the Tigers. This is the first time in a long time where they are going to be the big dog in this matchup, and whilst they have had success over the Hawks in recent years, it has been as the plucky underdog, not as the heavily favoured. So how do they go when the tables are turned, and with Hawthorn now the pluckiest of underdogs all of a sudden, winning games, looking good, they’ve won four of the last six.

 20.  The Showdown ends a monster Sunday, and it’s a super interesting rendition of the rivalry this one. The Crows played a half last weekend against the Pies, and to their opponents credit it didn’t look like they were off the first half, they were just outplayed, which could show the way for those facing the ladder-leaders going forward. It was at this time last year these Crows went from top two into fifth and that was their 2016 fate sealed. For Port, they got out of jail last week, and given the loss to Melbourne the week prior, they need to find something quickly – this team has top four credentials if they switch on, and to finish fourth when their cross-town rivals finish first would be monumental for the Power, and that starts this weekend.

 (originally published August 2)

[footyplusau]

After the siren: Saints go from pretenders to contenders

IN A football season as even as this, any time a team can put together a winning streak of four matches, then it is worth taking note of. 

That’s where St Kilda sits right now aftera 67-point thrashing of Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, capping off a great month of football that has the club firmly in the finals mix once more.

In the space of those four weeks the Saints have gone from one of the more disappointing teams in the competition to one of the most impressive. After three straight defeats that culminated in a 57-point Friday night stinker against Adelaide, the Saints have knocked over North Melbourne (17 points), Gold Coast (31 points), Fremantle (nine points) and then the Tigers, and have looked better with every passing week.

Their opening half might have been the best played by any team this year and at one stage late in the third term they led by 95 points. Had they kept their foot to the floor all evening they would have flipped places with the Tigers and given themselves a chance of being in the top four come the end of the round. 

The template the Saints have been building towards was on show for all to see and enjoy. Manic ball movement with excellent spread, and plenty of aggression when they didn’t have it. On Saturday night, they seemed to have the right mix of speed and grunt, but it is a weekly challenge to get the combination right, hence their bid to bring Josh Kelly to the club next year.

• Forecast the road to the flag with the AFL Ladder and Finals Predictor

The Saints also derived great benefit from the new tactic of putting work into Alex Rance. Port’s Jackson Trengove did it well for a half last week, but Nick Riewoldt did it for even longer on what was a special night for him. Riewoldt is a master and in his 17th season still finds a way to add a new dimension to his game and that of St Kilda.

Plenty of hype surrounded the Saints entering this season and many had them pencilled in as the team most likely to break into the eight. They were a bit more cautious, saying there could yet be improvement without necessarily making the finals. But the Saints, like the little girl in the taco ad, might get to have both – improvement and finals. 

• The run home: How the race for the finals is shaping up

Lewis shows his worth in Demons’ vital win

Where to start after a magnificent game of football at the MCG on Sunday?

The Blues were into Jordan Lewis all afternoon, and fair enough after the events from when they played earlier this season, after which the former Hawk was rubbed out for three weeks. This time, he kept his emotions in check and delivered one of his most important games for Melbourne. Lewis had 24 touches in a depleted midfield and some veteran savvy at the end to find space, call out for a pass from Alex Neal-Bullen and then take the mark to milk the final 30 seconds off the clock and kick the goal on the final siren for the cherry on top for the Demons.

• Around the state leagues: Who starred in your club’s twos?

The question going in was how Melbourne would fare with three gun injured midfielders – Jack Viney, Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson – watching on from the stands. A fair bit was resting on Clayton Oliver and he was terrific with 29 disposals, 15 contested possessions and nine tackles, but it was also a day the Demons will be glad they made the play to get Lewis. 

The Blues weren’t helped when their own midfield gun Patrick Cripps went off injured and were two short for much of the afternoon when Simon White was hurt as well. But they nearly lifted the roof off the MCG with three quick goals to open the last quarter and one of the most courageous wins of the Brendon Bolton era seemed on the cards.

But then the Demons dug in and the contest that finally decided the match was when Neville Jetta halved a marking contest with Dale Thomas on the outer wing. It probably says a bit about where Thomas is at these days, in that he smartly won the ball at ground level, but he went sideways rather than towards the goals because he just doesn’t have the acceleration he once did. 

Another feature was the six contested marks to Carlton’s Levi Casboult, who will surely become a wealthier man next year when he signs a new deal, either with the Blues or a different suitor. He has just about the best hands in the competition. The only rider will be that surely, Sav Rocca – ostensibly Carlton’s kicking coach but in reality the Levi-whisperer – comes across with Casboult in a package deal.

Irrespective of all that, this has become a bit of a rivalry in the AFL, so memo to fixturing boss Travis Auld: put these two clubs on a Friday night sometime next year.

Clarko’s grand plan begins to take shape

Is it possible that the ‘reverse tank’ is taking place at Hawthorn?

Coach Alastair Clarkson admitted last week that the finals haven’t been on the radar at the Hawks for the last six weeks or so, but in that time they have beaten Sydney and Adelaide on the road and drawn with Greater Western Sydney. 

Hawthorn might have bottomed out already and the transformation has been built on youth. If you take Luke Hodge out of the backline, the group that quelled the uber-qualified Giants forwards for large stages on Saturday comprised Blake Hardwick, Kurt Heatherley, Kaiden Brand, Ryan Burton and James Sicily. The Hawks have long been confident in the quality of the youth they have been stockpiling, but who haven’t been given the opportunity until now, for obvious reasons. 

• Fantasy form watch: Blue a snout contender

Of course, the Hawks have little incentive to finish near the bottom this year because their first-round draft pick later this year belongs to St Kilda, courtesy of the Jaeger O’Meara trade.

The coaching from Clarkson continues to be outstanding and he has flipped the team around. Taylor Duryea and Will Langford forward, Sicily back and Jack Gunston further up the ground. And how was the ambition to try and win the game with 12 seconds left on Saturday? Had there been 13 seconds, they would have pinched it. 

Hawthorn won’t play finals this year, but wouldn’t it be ironic if this was finally the year that Clarkson wins his first coach of the year award? If the formline continues, then he has to be in the conversation, which is quite something.

Other observations

1. ‘Nathan Buckley watch’ is now officially on. It will be a drawn-out process and nothing will happen immediately because Pies president Eddie McGuire is out of the country. But Buckley’s demeanour changed after the loss to Essendon on Saturday that effectively ended Collingwood’s season, and the prediction here is of some sort of dignified, mutual decision before the end of the season that will bring six largely disappointing years as coach to an end. But he won’t be sacked and he will coach until the end of the season. A bit has to change at the Pies but Buckley will be treated with respect and affection from here on in and rightly so. But the decision to make a change will be the right one.

2. Technically speaking, Port Adelaide still hasn’t beaten a team in the top eight this year given that as of the end of this round, West Coast is now ninth place. But that’s being way too harsh. This was a stirring win by the Power in a remarkable game in which they kicked the first four goals, fell behind by 24 points in the second term, then totally dominated after half-time, winning contested possessions by 11, clearances by four and inside 50s by 19. That’s a belting in anyone’s language and the sort of form that should stand up in the frenzy of September. The story of the game was Port’s goalscorers – five to Charlie Dixon, three to Robbie Gray and two each to Justin Westhoff, Jackson Trengove and Paddy Ryder. Port is loaded with scoring power – excuse the pun – and it will take a strong backline to keep it in check from here. 

3. This is West Coast’s final season at Domain Stadium before the move to the palace by the river at Burswood. For so long a fortress, the Eagles have lost three of their past four games there and if they miss the finals or find themselves in the lower reaches of the eight, which seems likely, the lack of a killer punch at home will be a key reason why.

4. The story in Sydney gets better by the week – this time it was a five-goal haul to Gary Rohan – and the build-up to the Sydney rivalry this week will be huge. The lingering question over the Swans will be how much petrol they will have left in the tank after this barnstorming run to the finals.

5. The Cats took a calculated risk in moving their entire football operation out of Geelong for a week, but it appeared to have paid off. Instead of returning home after their game in Sydney last week the Cats decamped straight to the Gold Coast and spent the week there preparing for their clash with Brisbane at the Gabba. It is standard practice in the NFL for teams who have back-to-back games on the opposite side of the country to stay in the area for the week and there is no surprise that a club as professional as the Cats made it work so well. Nor are we surprised that Patrick Dangerfield didn’t spend the week up north – he was otherwise occupied for the birth of young George Dangerfield – yet was still best on ground, despite not training with his teammates all week.

• Nine things we learned from round 16

6. Ryan Nyhuis was probably about tuck into an extra pancake at breakfast on Sunday when the Dockers informed him he was coming in for his debut game to replace the ill David Mundy as a late replacement. And what a first game it was, with four goals including the last two of the game to help Freo to a four-point win, their first in six weeks. Not only that, but as he explained to Fox Footy afterwards, it was one of the first games he had ever played in the forward line. Bulldogs forward Clay Smith is the only other current AFL player to have kicked four goals on debut.

7. It was another close loss for the Kangas, with the result decided once and for all with Todd Goldstein’s miss from a set shot with only a few minutes to go. It spared a few blushes for young Freo ruckman Sean Darcy who grabbed Goldstein around his shoulder and gave away the free kick. North did well to get back into the game and take the lead in the final quarter, but the Kangas dug themselves a hole early on with a poor first quarter. The Kangas are getting games into the kids, but that, and the gold-star form of Shaun Higgins, are about the only positives of their season.

WATCH: The thrilling final minutes of North v Freo

8. Add Jake Lever to the list of those playing great footy while weighing up gargantuan contract offers next season. He had 22 possessions and nine marks and joins Josh Kelly and Dustin Martin as those watching their value go up by the week.

9. Now that Luke Beveridge is admitting that there might be an issue with the Dogs’ hunger, it might be the first step towards properly addressing why the club’s premiership defence has been so lousy.

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Match report: Crows thump stumbling Dogs

ADELAIDE’S high-powered attack roared to life as the Crows put another dent in the Western Bulldogs’ premiership defence.

After leading by just three points at half-time the Crows burst into the second half with a run of 10 unanswered goals and consigned the Bulldogs to a 59-point loss at Adelaide Oval on Friday night in front of a crowd of 41,948.

Crows forwards Josh Jenkins and skipper Taylor Walker combined for seven goals on their way to the 16.8 (104) to 5.15 (45) victory.

Along with hitting the scoreboard, Jenkins and Walker controlled the air and marked everything in sight.

Full match coverage and stats

The Crows (11-4) return to the top of the ladder, but will be back in second spot if Greater Western Sydney defeats Hawthorn on Saturday.

“I’m really proud of the playing group tonight in a game where at half-time it was an arm wrestle, tight tussle and in difficult conditions,” Crows coach Don Pyke said.

“I thought our second half tonight was very, very good led by our leaders, but more importantly, the contribution from virtually everyone was most times to a really high level, so I’m super proud of them.”

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (7-8) have now lost four of their past five games to put their aspirations of reaching the finals in serious doubt.

“We’re gutted,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said.

“Our intensity level wasn’t where it needed to be.

“We’re not going to give ourselves any pats on the back for a reasonable first half because what happened in the second half was unacceptable.

“It’s one of the worst loses since I’ve been at the club.”

Crows club champion Rory Sloane  (24 possessions, 10 contested) enjoyed the freedom of not having a tagger for the first time in several weeks.

GAME BREAKER: Big Tex tames the Dogs

However, the Crows followed the lead set by the rest of the competition and sent Riley Knight to shut down the influence of running defender Jason Johannisen, last year’s Norm Smith medallist held to just 16 possessions.

Johannisen will also leave South Australia with a headache after Walker shoved him into the behind post.

In-demand Crows defender Jake Lever (22 possessions at 90 per cent efficiency, 11 marks) added more value to his next contract with another outstanding performance.

For the Bulldogs, Toby McLean led the way with 31 possessions while Jack Macrae had 27.

The Bulldogs held a two-point lead at quarter-time after a tough opening in wet and slippery conditions, but it was the second term where they butchered their chance to win the game.

A return of two goals from 20 inside 50s simply isn’t good enough.

Five talking points: Adelaide v Western Bulldogs

The Crows led by three points at half-time after Bailey Dale and Jake Stringer kicked the last two goals of the second quarter to keep the Dogs in the contest, but the Crows burst of the blocks in the third term with Walker taking a superb contested mark.

Goals to Matt Crouch (a team-high 32 disposals) and Josh Jenkins extended the Crows’ advantage before Betts turned in a bit of trademark brilliance, the champion small forward maintaining his balance on the slippery surface and kicking the ball off the ground.

Soon after, Brad Crouch (24 disposals) delivered a strong tackle on Dale to force the ball loose, Walker pouncing and kicking the goal to extend the lead to 33 points.

The Crows pushed the margin out to 61 points before Luke Dahlhaus kicked the Bulldogs’ first goal of the second half at the 17-minute mark of the last quarter.

MEDICAL ROOM Adelaide: Crows skipper Taylor Walker had a tremendous game, but left the ground late after copping a poke to the eye. “I haven’t got any detail on that at the moment. I think he’s seeing the doctor as we speak, so I really can’t comment on it,” Crows coach Don Pyke said. Small defender Luke Brown had his knee assessed in the second quarter, but returned to play out the rest of the game.

Western Bulldogs: The lone bright spot for the Bulldogs was they didn’t add to their injury list.

NEXT UP
 The Crows head to Darwin to take on Melbourne at TIO Stadium next Saturday night, 7.10pm ACST. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs face Carlton at the MCG next Sunday at 3.20pm AEST.

ADELAIDE                    2.2   5.5   12.5   16.8 (104) WESTERN BULLDOGS   2.4   4.8   4.11   5.15 (45)

GOALS Adelaide: Jenkins 4, Walker 3, Betts 2, Knight, Sloane, Atkins, M.Crouch, B.Crouch, Douglas, Cameron Western Bulldogs:  Stringer, Redpath, Suckling, Dale, Dahlhaus

BEST Adelaide: Walker, Jenkins, Sloane, Lever, Otten, Laird, M.Crouch Western Bulldogs:  McLean, Bontempelli, Hunter

INJURIES Adelaide: Nil Western Bulldogs: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Chamberlain, Fleer, Meredith

Official crowd: 41,948

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After the siren: Flaws that could stop contenders

FIFTEEN weeks into the season and what remains abundantly clear is the premiership race is as wide open as it has ever been.

If you’re the AFL, it is the culmination of years of carefully crafted and meticulously implemented equalisation plans. On any given Friday, Saturday, Sunday (and the occasional Monday and Thursday) any team can beat another team. 

But what is also becoming clear is that the 2017 premiership might not be won by a champion team, necessarily, but perhaps the team with the fewest flaws.

So, at the risk of being branded the resident curmudgeon on AFL.com.au, let’s look at the flaw that might just hold back each of the premiership contenders in 2017.

• The run home: How the race for the finals is shaping up

Greater Western Sydney: On paper, the best team in the competition, but the clock is ticking on whether the Giants will be able to field their best 22 ahead of the finals. Brett Deledio hasn’t played, Stephen Coniglio will have missed half a season when he returns and Ryan Griffen likely won’t play until the start of the finals. And then there is the discipline issue that lingers just beneath the surface. Had Steve Johnson – whose absence arguably cost the Giants in their preliminary final last year – not given away a dumb 50m penalty on Saturday night that gifted the Cats a goal, GWS may yet have won.

Adelaide: The heaviest scoring team in the competition and if the Crows can play the game on their terms, they are really hard to stop. But they’re 4-4 in their past eight games and laboured to the line against the Blues on Saturday. Would they have made it past their fellow top-eight clubs on that effort? Debatable.

Geelong: There was a lot to like about the Cats on Saturday night – three debutants and almost getting the win away to the Giants. But they blew a chance to score a big win on the road and in such an even season, the ability to win on the road is critical. The Cats travel to the Gabba this week and then to Adelaide to face the Crows a fortnight after that. They need to take care of business on the road when they can.

Richmond: Seats aboard the Tiger train are filling fast after the slashing win over Port Adelaide on Saturday night. But can the 11th-best attack in the competition win a premiership? That’s what the Tigers need to deal with. A 2017 flag to the Tigers will be built on the back of a brilliant backline and it won’t be the first time that has happened.

Melbourne: A bit like the Giants, the Demons are struggling to get their best team on the park. And their next few weeks might see them without three midfield guns – Nathan Jones, Jack Viney and Dom Tyson. And then there’s the discipline. Having Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis unavailable earlier in the season arguably cost the Demons a win or two, Tom Bugg won’t be playing any time soon, while Dean Kent, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Ben Kennedy and Jake Spencer weren’t considered for selection last week after breaking club rules during the week. Not ideal. Not this year.

Port Adelaide: With the second-best percentage in the competition and the second-most points for, the Power can get the scoreboard working. But the form line is the worry here. Saturday night’s capitulation to Richmond – at home – continued a season-long trend of Port losing to teams in the eight. Even coach Ken Hinkley agrees there is no counterpoint unless his men knock over one of the big boys.

West Coast: Working out which West Coast will turn up week to week is the biggest issue for Adam Simpson. Are they the mob that meekly surrendered a comfortable late lead to Melbourne last week, or the group that travelled across the country the next, overcoming a couple of injuries to knock over the reigning premiers? It was huge for the Eagles to pick up a much-needed win at in Melbourne, but they’ve twice failed at the MCG this year.

• Around the state leagues: Who starred in your club’s twos?

Sydney: The Swans are the form team of the competition, having come back from a 0-6 start to the cusp of the top eight. Their best footy is the best in the competition. But how many petrol tickets have they spent to get back in contention? The Swans have no margin for error and cannot afford to flirt with their form. 

St Kilda: It’s all coming together for the Saints, but a look at their season shows a pair of three-game winning streaks. They’re riding another of those now, which adds to the intrigue of the Richmond game coming up. Win four straight at this time of the year and you start to have the makings of a really good side. The intensity that marked the win over GWS earlier this year was on display again for large parts of the Freo game. But is it the norm for St Kilda in 2017?

The Tribunal times, they should be a-changin’

Some of the inner workings of the AFL’s judicial processes were laid bare on Saturday in a deep-dive interview with AFL football boss Simon Lethlean on ABC radio.

It came after a huge week on the Tribunal front with the Bachar Houli suspension and subsequent AFL-led appeal, and then the crude Tom Bugg strike on Callum Mills on Friday night, which surely will be referred straight to the Tribunal when the Match Review Panel meets on Monday.

What we learned was that while the MRP’s standing as an independent body remains enshrined, Lethlean has a look at what incidents are likely to be reviewed and the recommended sanctions (and otherwise) before they are finalised. There may be times when the MRP seeks his counsel during its deliberations.

But it remains an antiquated system in some ways. It is almost the last vestige of a semi-professional competition once played exclusively in the suburbs of Melbourne, only on Saturday afternoons and run by administrators who could only deal with the affairs of the game at night once their days in the factory, classroom or office were done.

• Nine things we learned from round 15

While it is a given that Bugg will be going straight to the Tribunal, the fact that it won’t be officially confirmed until Monday afternoon is absurd. The medical report that Lethlean said the MRP will rely on in making its adjudication will be available well before Monday morning, given the Swans played on Friday night. There needs to be process, but there is also video technology (Telstra, being an official partner of the AFL, could surely help in this regard) that could allow the MRP to meet remotely, as early as Saturday to make its ruling following Friday night games and, increasingly, Thursday night games as well.

ANALYSIS: Bugg has only one move left

Until that happens, the Bugg episode will be replayed over and over and over again and the game won’t have moved on from the days of black shorts at home, white shorts away and black and white TV. 

The entire AFL judicial process will be reviewed at the end of the season, as it is every year. It is a complicated and multi-layered system. But just as Lethlean courageously defied years of convention by appealing the Houli suspension, he could add some speed and contemporary thinking to the MRP system that sometimes takes too long.

Swans throw players’ code out the window

Of course, what the MRP won’t need to take into consideration are the views of some of Mills’ teammates. Perhaps Bugg brought this all upon himself with his provocative pre-game Instagram message before the Bulldogs game a few weeks back, but the Swans were quite forthright in their condemnation of Bugg after Friday’s game, in a clear departure from the old-fashioned players code that would suddenly appear after a contentious incident.

Defender Nick Smith gave one example on 3AW: “(I was) taught to play footy the right way. You want to hurt your opposition, but not in that fashion.” It was the polite but direct sort of dig one would expect from the Scotch College-educated Smith. But there were no airs and graces from teammate Tom Papley, who told AAP simply that it was a “dog act”. 

We think that’s what Smith wanted to say, only he’s a bit too polite.

Nick Smith told Tom Bugg what he really thought on Friday night. Picture: AFL Photos

Lions’ den gets a lot more attractive 

That’s one hell of a coaching job Chris Fagan is doing at the Gabba after the Brisbane Lions came from 27 points down early in the final quarter to beat Essendon at Etihad Stadium, sending a huge 41,000 crowd home in stunned silence.

More weeks than not there has been a bit to like about the Lions and on Sunday it was four goals from the rapidly emerging Eric Hipwood and 29 classy touches in just his second game from last year’s No.23 draft pick Alex Witherden. When Lewis Taylor and Dayne Zorko play well, the Lions become that much harder to beat.

The Lions are on a journey and they’re savouring every moment. Witness the unbridled excitement from coach Chris Fagan afterwards in the coach’s box, on the ground and in the rooms.

The Lions can’t make the finals and will likely win the wooden spoon. But if you’re the No.1 rated junior in the country, you’d have few qualms about joining a club that has bottomed out and is starting its climb back to respectability.

• Forecast the road to the flag with the AFL Ladder and Finals Predictor

Other observations

1. 30, 30, 25, 95, 103 and 19. That’s the losing margins for St Kilda in their last six trips to Domain Stadium before Sunday. The Saints should have knocked over West Coast in round two, but ran out of steam, but they powered home with two late goals to Josh Bruce to beat Fremantle by nine points after trailing at every change. Before Sunday they had lost 11 out of 12 outside Victoria. Brilliant, brilliant win by the Saints as they put a major bogey to bed. 

2. All the Saints won’t take home to Victoria are the three Brownlow votes. They will go to Michael Walters, who with 32 touches, six marks and six goals, played one of the best games by a small forward you will ever see. Plaudits to the Saints, but the Dockers would have been worthy winners on his efforts alone.

WATCH: Six of the best from Sonny

3. It was a nice weekend for those making their debut, with Tyson Stengle booting two for the Tigers on debut in Adelaide, as did Wylie Buzza for the Cats in the draw against the Giants. Buzza now has the best name in footy, although not for too long. The potential debut of Irving Mosquito in 2019, perhaps for the Hawks as part of their Next Generation academy, has footy’s name watchers giddy with excitement.

4. Adelaide Oval has been the scene of a pair of nice redemption stories in the past two weeks. After being kept goalless in a half by Port Adelaide in round 11, the Hawks came back three weeks later to knock over the Crows. Richmond, meanwhile, lost by 76 points to the Crows in round six, before returning 10 weeks later to beat the Power by 13. The ghosts of the Tigers’ 2014 finals humiliation might have been put to bed once and for all.

5. The nice story of the weekend was Nathan Vardy kicking the sealer for West Coast against the Bulldogs on Saturday. The star-crossed big man managed just 25 games in six years for Geelong and sought a fresh start with the Eagles this year. And while he might have initially been thought of as cover for the season while Nic Naitanui’s reconstructed ACL slowly healed, Vardy has not skipped a beat all year. As he said in a candid post-game interview on Fox Footy afterwards, football is supposed to be fun, but it is anything but when you can’t get on the park. Also good for the Eagles on Saturday was key defender Eric Mackenzie, who has struggled mightily since injuring his knee in 2014. But his confidence is returning and it allows the Eagles to play Jeremy McGovern forward, where he is at his most dangerous.

WATCH: Vardy brilliance gets Eagles home

6. Trent Cotchin the best captain in the league? We’re not buying that just yet. But how good was the change-room vision of Cotchin calmly talking to a clearly rattled Alex Rance at half-time on Saturday night. The soothing talk must have had the desired effect because after a half of being run around by Jackson Trengove, Rance went back to being the best full-back in the competition in the second half and helped engineer a fabulous win. 

7. The Hawks have eschewed the hard tag in recent years and let’s face it, they haven’t really needed to. They’ve let the likes of Scott Pendlebury run amok in recent years but it hasn’t mattered much because overall talent would win out. So the Hawks have turned to youngster Dan Howe and in the last fortnight he has kept Rory Sloane to 23 touches without having much of an influence while on Sunday it was 250-gamer Pendlebury who was kept to 21 touches without ever getting on the leash. The coaching at Hawthorn remains very, very good.

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