AGING ROCK STARS Out with the old and in with the who?

By CHRISTINA HOAG
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Hip-hop may be the top dog in CD sales and radio plays, but it's rock 'n' roll that still fills the arenas -- and we're not just talking legends like the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney.
It's bands like Meat Loaf, Journey, Pink Floyd, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Judas Priest that, if you weren't around in the '60s or '70s, you might not have even heard of.
Trouble is, a lot of these guys are hitting retirement age. Some sexagenarian performers have even had to cancel tours due to age-related ailments such as heart problems and strokes.
"What's going to happen when they're gone? It's a legitimate concern in the industry," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the chronicle of the $2.8 billion concert trade. "They're a huge percentage of our business."
When these performers and the second-tier rockers eventually shelve their road acts, the touring business could find itself hard pressed to fill the void.
Hip-hop shows
With a handful of exceptions such as Jay Z, Eminem and Kanye West, the iconic music of today's youth -- hip hop -- doesn't pack venues with fans in the way rock does, those in the industry say.
"It's always been a conundrum why hip hop, the top CD seller, hasn't translated into ticket sales," said Ray Waddell, senior editor touring of Billboard.
According to Pollstar listings of current tours, about a third are so-called "evergreen" rockers. The balance is a melange of genres including alternative rock, country and Latin, with only a sprinkling of rappers.
And classic rock is crucial to the industry's gross revenues, boasting some of the biggest earners in the business -- to wit, U2, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles.
McCartney, based on numbers from his 2002 tour, is likely to gross about $103 million on his current tour, or about $2 million per night, according to Pollstar.
Compare that to last year's Usher-Kanye West concert, which grossed about $700,000 at a sold-out AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, according to Billboard Boxscore.
High prices
One reason for hip-hop's low box office performance: hefty prices, say some in the industry. Concert admissions have doubled in the past decade, from a $25 average in 1995 to more than 50 bucks this year. That's not to mention exorbitant ancillary expenses such as concessions, parking and service fees.
The result is the pricing out of younger crowds who, thanks to MTV and the Internet, have cheaper alternatives to connect with their pop idols.
"Baby boomers have disposable income. The younger audience doesn't have that disposable income. Kids just can't afford it," says Bernie Dillon, senior vice president of entertainment for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & amp; Casino.
With concertgoers skewing older, that creates a demand for the groups of yesteryear, who are also pushed out onto the road to make money in light of sliding CD sales and royalties, he notes.
Others in the industry say youths will pay up if they think the show is worth it.
But hip hop artists can be performance-challenged. They usually start their careers in recording studios before venturing on stage -- the opposite to the rock route, where bands cut their teeth on live performances, developing fan followings before landing label contracts.
"Hip-hop is one guy with a microphone rapping over a beat," says Louis Oliver, a former South Florida hip hop promoter. "There's not much of a visual component. There's no drummer or guitarist going off on riffs."
Collaborations
The solution promoters have hit upon is bundling several hip-hop acts in one concert, much as how rappers make albums.
Usually, several performers are featured as "guests" on an artist's LP. That provides extra revenue streams for the artists without the hardship of going on the road. It also boosts sales by appealing to several fan bases, says Ted Lucas, president of Miami hip-hop label Slip 'n' Slide.
The same principle applies to concerts, says Carl Freed, president of Trevanna Entertainment, a New York promoter and live performance consulting firm. Freed put together the 2000 Up in Smoke Tour, which featured a half-dozen hip-hop headliners. He now produces the annual Summer Jam rap blowout at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
Such festivals work, Freed says, because a lot of rappers have one chart-topping single, but not a string of hits to showcase on stage. Rock has traditionally been more "album-oriented" with groups focusing on recording a strong collection of songs, some of which turn into hits.
"Rock bands have developed great catalogs and they know how to tour," Freed said. "Unfortunately, with hip hop, it's not really compelling live."
Record labels have become particularly focused on hit singles with the advent of the Internet.
Tech-savvy fans download just the songs they like and make their own compilations of favorites instead of shelling out $20 for a CD that may have only one or two songs they really want.
But promoters say that once the evergreen performers start retiring, others will replace them. They point to rock bands Coldplay and Green Day as examples that are selling out arenas, and promoters still hope that hip-hoppers may polish their live performances.
"There will be acts to take their place," said Jon Stoll, president of Fantasma Productions, a West Palm Beach promoter. "I don't think the arena business is going anywhere."
Health problems
It used to be that rock stars died young of living life to the rhythm of notorious excess in drugs, alcohol and the like. These days, they're more likely to die of heart failure.
"It's certainly a problem as some of these groups age," said Bernie Dillon, senior vice president of entertainment at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & amp; Casino.
"Can they maintain their tour schedule? Can they maintain their voices? Touring is a tough business."
In recent years, several tours have been affected by performers' health ailments.
In August 2004, then 57-year-old David Bowie was forced to halt his European tour and undergo emergency heart surgery for a blocked artery.
Also that month, The Kinks co-founder Dave Davies, also 57, collapsed of a stroke in London, causing an upcoming American tour to be canceled.
Last October, former Eagles bassist Randy Meisner, then 58, was hospitalized for chest pains in Los Angeles.
On the R & amp;B-soul scene, Ronald Isley, of the Isley Brothers fame, suffered a minor stroke last year at age 63 while 56-year-old Rick James died. The funk legend, famed for 1981's "Superfreak," had suffered a stroke while on stage in Denver in 1997 and had hip replacement surgery the following year.
"As long as these guys can work, they'll sell tickets," said Ray Waddell, senior editor touring of Billboard magazine. "But at some point, biology will take over."