When I saw Simon and Garfinkle the tickets were $2.50. The Lovin' Spoonful opened for them.
We refused to see the Beatles because the tickets were $8.80 and NO group was worth that much.
I beg to differ. James Brown is worth at LEAST $8.80.
I don't know about many other artists reaching that level of value though.
The industry shunned The Ramones until the singer was already dead and in the following 2 years, 2 more members passed away.
We are only around 5-10 years away from ALL of these performers being out of circulation (dead, retired, unable to perform...).
Rock isn't dead but the industry side of it is on the way out. We don't want $20 CDs and we don't want $80-120 concert tickets ($35 for a blanket on a hillside).
Sure people will shell out some cash for "one last chance to see..." but those artists WON'T always be around.
The music world has successfully been balkanized. Who gets exposed to new artists through radio anymore?