2008 Woodie Awards
Vans Warped Tour creator visits LCCC
James Elliot
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
The creator of the longest-running rock festival to ever hit the States, Kevin Lyman, discussed the modern-day music industry Thursday, march 29.
The Van's Warped Tour is an all-day summer event that hits more than 40 cities in a two-month span. It will be touring this summer for the 13th year in a row and will be featuring more then 100 bands in the course of its tour.
Lyman's laid-back personality showed throughout his speech. He talked about a wide variety of things pertaining to the music business.
Even when they told him that he only had one more question left to answer, he still answered a handful more and stayed around in the lobby to answer any other questions that people had.
Lyman talked about the downward spiral of CD sales resulting from internet based music. "We lost a whole generation of music buyers." He said, Because of the availability of music downloads online.
However he does not blame this generation for this. Who would want to buy a $16 CD when you can download it from itunes for 10 bucks? He asked.
The Internet is the future of music Lyman said, explaining that bands must market their albums online. He identified such Web site as "Tunecore" and "Diskrevolt" that helps bands market music online.
Lyman helped his audience understand where the money is actually made in the music business. Whether you're a person like Lyman, who runs the tour or just a band, 90 percent of your gross money comes from merchandise. "If I look at my merch numbers, I'm stoked!" he said.
He used a couple examples of bands who sold their merchandise rights to certain companies that are now unable to sell their merchandise at the price they want. The company dictates that for them.
Another one of Lyman's main topics was that to many bands are on tour all the time, which is why a lot of bands have trouble selling out their shows, he said.
Instead of three bands playing at three different places in a city on the same night, Lyman asked, why not work together to form one major event so everyone can see all of the bands?
For the most part, Lyman markets to people between the ages of 13 to 20. "I'm trying to teach people that music can be fun again," he said.
Lyman said he is working on starting a tour that is supposes to hit 25 big college campuses next fall.
This will be a little different then his usual summer Warped Tour, he said. He is going to set it up like a job fair during the day and a rock concert at night to bring a positive vibe to the educational side of the festival..
The Van's Warped Tour is an all-day summer event that hits more than 40 cities in a two-month span. It will be touring this summer for the 13th year in a row and will be featuring more then 100 bands in the course of its tour.
Lyman's laid-back personality showed throughout his speech. He talked about a wide variety of things pertaining to the music business.
Even when they told him that he only had one more question left to answer, he still answered a handful more and stayed around in the lobby to answer any other questions that people had.
Lyman talked about the downward spiral of CD sales resulting from internet based music. "We lost a whole generation of music buyers." He said, Because of the availability of music downloads online.
However he does not blame this generation for this. Who would want to buy a $16 CD when you can download it from itunes for 10 bucks? He asked.
The Internet is the future of music Lyman said, explaining that bands must market their albums online. He identified such Web site as "Tunecore" and "Diskrevolt" that helps bands market music online.
Lyman helped his audience understand where the money is actually made in the music business. Whether you're a person like Lyman, who runs the tour or just a band, 90 percent of your gross money comes from merchandise. "If I look at my merch numbers, I'm stoked!" he said.
He used a couple examples of bands who sold their merchandise rights to certain companies that are now unable to sell their merchandise at the price they want. The company dictates that for them.
Another one of Lyman's main topics was that to many bands are on tour all the time, which is why a lot of bands have trouble selling out their shows, he said.
Instead of three bands playing at three different places in a city on the same night, Lyman asked, why not work together to form one major event so everyone can see all of the bands?
For the most part, Lyman markets to people between the ages of 13 to 20. "I'm trying to teach people that music can be fun again," he said.
Lyman said he is working on starting a tour that is supposes to hit 25 big college campuses next fall.
This will be a little different then his usual summer Warped Tour, he said. He is going to set it up like a job fair during the day and a rock concert at night to bring a positive vibe to the educational side of the festival..
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