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Baseball is Moving to Vegas?! What Do Y’all Think?

Hi-

Start of my summer retreat this week…so a little less newsletter. 

I’m off to Miami next week, but not before I try to score some tickets to see:

  • Dave Matthews Band
  • The Cure
  • Jeff Tweedy

All before I leave town! 

I did get to see LCD Soundsystem on Sunday and they were great! Fun! 10/10. 

July 15th at 1 PM Eastern, you’ll get my next FREE monthly webinar on pricing! 

To the Tickets!


I. The Athletics/MLB

The numbers don’t add up in the long-term for anyone…it doesn’t seem. 

  • But public money is a hell of a drug, man. 
  • Will this line up with the ambition that a lot of Las Vegas decision makers have to make Las Vegas more of a premium destination? 
  • Baseball projects a 6-8% increase in attendance this season, but is that tickets distributed? Sold? Or, what’s the scan rate? 

What’s your take on MLB? The A’s to Vegas? Baseball’s pitch clock? Attendance? 

Send me your thoughts and I might share them in next week’s newsletter. 

P.S. Bryce Harper weighs in on whether MLB will work in Las Vegas…he’s got his doubts.

II. Less Is More

Core competencies: what are the one or two things you do bettter than the alternative choices/competition? 

More is not more…it is just more. 

I’ve been doing some stuff on strategy lately and here are a few ideas that may help y’all think more clearly about strategy:

  • Strategy is about choice. You have to know what success looks like.
  • Strategy is about focus. You can’t do everything. 
  • Strategy is about action. It isn’t enough to have a good plan. You also need to do something with it. 
  • Strategy is about sacrifice. Sometimes a good idea has to die. 

III. There is a battle for young concertgoers

The NFL did some research a few years back to tell them if you don’t get a kid to become a football fan by 18, you aren’t likely to get them to become a football fan at all. 

I’d guess that similar data applies to going to shows, following other sports, or doing certain activities. 

Accessibility is key. 

I was hooked on a lot of $20 shows at the Edge back in the 90s including:

  • Foo Fighters’ first tour
  • The Breeders
  • The Toadies
  • Marilyn Manson
  • Live

And, more. 

Looking back, yeah…some good music was happening. More, I could afford to go. 

P.S. Bob Lefsetz looks at the Biden agreement on fees

I think that some concerts are too expensive, some are too cheap, some are just right. 

For me, the issue with price here is that I believe in value-based fees, but the service that is often provided doesn’t necessarily add value or increase the value. It is all just squeezing more money out of customers. 

The value is in the artist and the performance, not in the buying of the ticket. 

IV. The BBC’s Chief Content Officer seems to agree with me about the state of the classical music industry

“Crisis” is a kissing cousin to “free fall”. 

The BBC’s investment will focus on reaching new audiences and improving education in the area. 

  • TV is a great way to win more top of funnel awareness. While cable packages and linear TV has been declining, it is still the easiest and best place to reach a large audience. 
  • Education of the arts is important because it makes you a better citizen, sure. But if you aren’t exposed to something, you’ll never become a fan of it. Education should equal awareness here as well. 
  • New business models should be something that people are always thinking of. The only certainty in life is change. 

V. Links: 

My brand management webinar with AudienceView is on demand

Listen anytime you like. 

What can a 43-year-old Swiftie teach us?

Friend of the pod/newsletter, Amy Maiden talks about her growing love for Taylor Swift and ties it all up with some brand management and fan culture. 


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Go to Nashville and check out the World Ticket Conference. Lots of networking in a new location.