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Concert Ticket Sales Down (Unless You're Taylor Swift)

The live music business is taking a beating across the country this summer — and that's come home to New England.

The past few months have been called the worst summer concert season since the mid-1990s, thanks to a rash of canceled tours and dismal ticket sales. Mega-promoter Live Nation revealed a 12 percent drop for its top-selling acts so far this year.

Independent promoters in the Boston area say they're suffering, and are worried about ticket sales in the fall.

Gary Bongiovanni, of the trade publication Pollstar, says those worries are justified.

"The heart of the summer amphitheater business really is in July and August, so I would expect the difficulty we're seeing to continue through the end of the year," Bongiovanni said.

Bongiovanni says the recession and bloated ticket prices are to blame — though not for every tour. "Taylor Swift managed to sell out Gilette Stadium," Bongiovanni said.

This program aired on July 19, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Andrea Shea

Andrea Shea Correspondent, Arts & Culture
Andrea Shea is a correspondent for WBUR's arts & culture reporter.

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