World touring has changed dramatically over the past 30-plus years, according to the President of World Touring/President of Live Nation Concerts Arthur Fogel. During a chat at the Billboard Live Music Summit in Los Angeles on Thursday (November 14), the veteran promoter said that infrastructure around the world has improved drastically and he's opened up tours by nearly doubling the number of countries in that time.
“The first time I went to South America was in the 1990s with David Bowie, 35 years ago. It was a different world down there. It was a very different world all around,” Fogel said. “It was the Wild West. It was very difficult, even though the audience was great, but you fast forward to today and the level of expertise that has been built up. There is the ability to do business at a very serious level.”
In conversation with Haus of Gaga's Bobby Campbellwho is Lady Gaga's manager, Fogel explained that world tours are “night and day” compared to 35 years ago, when North American artists only had the opportunity to tour 15 to 20 countries. Now, Fogel said there are 60 to 70 countries available.
According to Campbell, touring has become more than just a financial engine for artists. it has become a marketing guide for the music itself.
“You used to do cycles where you'd put the album out, promote the album through talk shows and TV shows and awards shows, then eventually go on tour,” Campbell said. “Now touring is becoming a central part of the marketing plan for the album.” He added that artists will now change small aspects of their shows, such as the setlist or certain dance moves, to create new content for each stop.
These small adjustments are a far cry from the dramatic changes that tours would have to make decades ago as they crossed continents, explained Fogel, who said artists used to create a tour specifically for North America and then scale back and to change it for other parts of the world.
“There are so many new cutting-edge venues coming online that have really helped push the ability for artists to go and play in different places,” said Fogel, who pointed out that Africa, essentially the last frontier on the tour front , recently opened.
“South America, Central America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, India, Southern Africa, Eastern Europe — all those regions and areas of the world that were once very difficult to access in terms of touring have really grown. dramatically over the last decade and a half,” Fogel added. “To provide an opportunity for an artist to go virtually anywhere in the world at this point and connect with their fans is really a pretty interesting and important part. It's probably the most important piece in terms of growth in our business.”
