Larry Miller

@NYUMusicBiz prof with appetite for #disruption. I make the @musonomics podcast. Clio Award-winning voice actor.

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Here we go again. Ticketmaster doesn't set prices or sale terms. But as I said in this story by @sisario in the NYT, it's time for a wake-up call on "dynamic pricing" in the primary ticketing market, whether automated or determined by actual humans. https://t.co/JfNC9bT9de

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

I wrote a guest essay for Variety:
- why the DOJ - Live Nation antitrust lawsuit will not lower concert ticket prices for music fans.
- why the ire of many fans is misplaced.
- how the unregulated secondary market drives pricing in the primary market.
https://t.co/UuShAOIdEb

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

So much wrong with the lazily edited #FastCompany story on JKBX. Besides misspelling the company name(!), they say JKBX raised $16 billion & links to the filing, disclosing capital raised = $16,142,954. That's only off by a factor of 1000. Be better. https://t.co/at4RievOxk

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

I 🩷 everything about this story. #RAYE signed to Polydor UK at 16. Dropped at 24. A&R's her own sensational super-indie album & releases it with Human Re:Sources + The Orchard. Record-smashing 6 BRIT wins on Saturday. Make way, superstardom.
https://t.co/X2d5tbmRJ0

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Awesome pod episode alert: We unpack $MUSQ, the first music ETF, allowing you to invest in US and overseas music labels, pubs, digital services, and more across the global music sector. Listen to MUSQ founder @DavidKSchulhof & me. @musonomics https://t.co/Ia6QBeX2wM

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

What a powerful statement to make -- and underscore blue chip institutional support for music copyright investment. Way to go, @kobalt. https://t.co/XVclXbaKV9

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Proud to once again make Billboard's Top Music Business Schools. This time with a special shoutout to our newest adjunct professors @DavidIsraelite and @mitch_glazier! @nyusteinhardt @NYUMusicBiz @RIAA @NMPAorg

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

The U2 x Las Vegas Sphere show took two years to create and will make ~$270m.

In Fall 2021, the band was approached to open the $2.3B mega-structure (with a capacity of 18k).

Willie Williams — U2’s creative director since the early 1980s — initially thought it was a “terrible idea”.

Why? U2’s iconic tours have been breakthrough custom sets from Zoo TV in the early 1990s (pioneering giant screens on stage) to the 360 Tour of late 2000s (360-degree stage for stadium shows).

They weren’t keen to build an act around the Sphere’s requirements, especially one with the most ambitious audio-visual specs ever: 

▫️160k+ speakers
▫️366ft tall x 516ft wide (9 floors)
▫️Largest LED screen ever (160k sq ft)

However, the idea of a residency — instead of a moving tour — appealed to U2 because of COVID travel uncertainty.

One major obstacle was that dome-shaped buildings are typically awful for audio, per Variety.

The Sphere solved the issue with its 167k speakers including one in each seat. Effectively, every person is “getting studio-quality sound” according to James Dolan (owner of NY Knicks, NY Rangers, MSG and the man behind the Sphere). 

Meanwhile, the visuals were a collaboration with the world’s top creatives (Es Devlin, Marco Brambilla, John Gerrard and long-time producer Brian Eno).

The amount of data created to fill the LED screen is mind-boggling, per Wallpaper:

▫️ there are 268,435,456 pixels…
▫️ …which is equal to 72 HD TVs
▫️ … which is equal to 12k screen resolution 
▫️ …which means “every minute of content produced for Sphere is the equivalent of one hour of streaming television��

“With all the big stuff I’ve done for U2 and anyone else, we don’t start with the equipment, we start with the idea, and then figure out what we need to realize that idea,” Williams tells Variety. “And sometimes it involves big video, sometimes it doesn’t. Whereas here, the only given we had going in was the building — and a building that didn’t exist, and in fact isn’t finished now. So it was odd starting a show with hardware and with a space rather than the other way around.”

Here’s some napkin math for “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere”:

▫️25 dates x 18,000 per show x $600 per ticket (range is $400 to $1400) = $270 million

The entire U2 team — Williams, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg (who is subbing in for the injured Larry Mullen Jr) — clearly made a risky bet.

But the viral clips and buzz from opening night show it has paid off big time.

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Join @XavierJernigan and me for the most fun Mondo fireside chat ever on Wednesday, October 11. Check out the whole program at https://t.co/HiufuP9aAa. It's all happening October 10 - 13 at the Williamsburg Hotel in BK.

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Big difference maker for a huge swath of tours & crews. Hats off to $LYV for doing the right thing.
Music Industry Moves: Willie Nelson and Live Nation Team Up to Support Developing Artists, Cut Touring Costs https://t.co/zhji7gBLRS via @variety

[Chris Stapleton @ChrisStapleton]

New Monday Night Football Anthem “In The Air Tonight” premieres tonight on @ESPNNFL.

@SnoopDogg @Drumstress

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

Hey @FairwayMarket. There’s rushing the season, and there’s this. Not yet time for a cool yule.

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

When it comes to #TaylorSwift I've learned to never say never. I remember when ONE billion was the biggest tour in history -- last month. Glad to be included in this #CNNBusiness breaking story. @nyusteinhardt @musonomics

[CNN @CNN]

Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour could gross $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone, according to survey data provided to CNN. The estimated totals would make “Eras” the highest-grossing tour ever https://t.co/L62KuSDopn

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

It’s about time. https://t.co/MG4deaTP8D

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

The #taylorswift juggernaut continues to break the internet, this time due to a third party provider in France. Sigh. The @WSJ reposted my video with them within their story, "Taylor Swift's Net Worth: How the Anti-hero Star Made Her Fortune." https://t.co/L2SsFQZFpQ via @WSJ

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

.@LiveNation demonstrating what leadership looks like. Systemic change is hard and not without risk. This is a great start.

[Michael Rapino @Michael_Rapino]

Proud @LiveNation Venues joined with the @POTUS and the @WhiteHouse on all-in pricing to set a new a new standard for the live entertainment industry – we’ll keep pushing for more FAIR Reforms that benefit artists and fans: https://t.co/VS2SfEQxdj

[NYC Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment @MadeinNY]

Trying to understand the value of a music catalogue, how to yield funds from streaming, physical copies, downloads and the impact of AI are discussed by @citrincooperman’s Nari Matsuura & @nyusteinhardt’s @larrysmiller at #NYMusicMonth conference today.

[Torae @Torae]

This is your reminder to RSVP for the #NYMusicMonth conference presented by MOME and @NYUSteinhardt Music Business Program. Full line up & RSVP link here https://t.co/JhbLVvKXp0

See you Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at NYU Kimmel Center!

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

No physical formats ever came back. Until this one did.
Proud to be part of this story on the vinyl resurrection for @WSJVideo w @MikeShinoda & Mark Michaels, owner of United Record Pressing in Nashville. @nyusteinhardt @NYUMusicBiz #vinylrecords

https://t.co/sCK2AfR0hf

[Larry Miller @larrysmiller]

.@NYUMusicBiz is hosting the #NewYorkMusicMonth Conference on 6/7 with @MadeinNY. Looking forward to my fireside chat with Nari @citrincooperman on valuations in music rights acquisitions! It's free! RSVP: https://t.co/5BC2e6oaB8
https://t.co/5BC2e6oaB8 @nyusteinhardt