Big names have become unattainable and unaffordable
The Pete Maravich Assembly Center sits on the East side of campus, lonely for better days when it was considered an elite concert hall. It yearns for the times when musical acts such as Elton John and Bruce Springsteen filled it to its capacity with LSU students for something other than basketball games.
Campus officials say they now have to deal with a plethora of issues when bringing bands to campus for paid concert events. From dealing with budget issues and routing schedules to providing production and security – bringing music to the PMAC is a logistical nightmare.
Glory Days
During the ’70s and ’80s, the PMAC – known then as the LSU Assembly Center – hosted a laundry list of who’s who in rock and R&B that included Led Zeppelin, The Who, Ike & Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and U2.
And there’s a lot more.
Concerts at the Assembly Center during that time were as big of a deal as Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium, where on any given night the Assembly Center could be hosting a major musical experience.
Will Wilton was there.
As director of the Assembly Center from 1981 to 1996, Wilton was instrumental in bringing some of the biggest names of popular music to campus.
Groups ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Duran Duran passed through the Assembly Center on his watch, and he fondly remembers the era when getting these big acts was not such a hassle.
“It was unbelievable in those days,” Wilton said. “I grew up on this music and I saw it. But people need to realize that back then, things were a lot different. Bands would tour for two years straight and play every venue they could, whereas now bands come out and only perform 30 or 40 dates, only wanting to play the larger markets.”
Baton Rouge is not a large market. Compared to neighboring metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta or even New Orleans, Baton Rouge is widely considered nothing more than a pit stop.
Wilton, who is now general manager for the Riverside Centroplex, said Baton Rouge is not the concert tour destination it once was.
Today it’s hard to believe LSU was previously a hotbed for rock ‘n’ roll’s most influential, considering the bands that have stopped here in last few years: 3 Doors Down, Flickerstick, Ruby Horse, Sister Hazel, Pat McGee Band and Edwin McCain. They are a eulogy of one-hit wonders and throw-away groups destined to obscurity.
But, there’s good reason for the current slump.
In the Beginning …
When the LSU Assembly Center opened in 1971, it cost $11.5 million and was considered state-of-the-art. It had the capability to seat between 11,000 and 15,000 spectators for concert events depending on the stage setup and boasted an acoustic shell – making it one of more acoustically sound buildings of its kind, according to the PMAC Web Site.
At the time, the Assembly Center was the premier venue in the region. The Louisiana Superdome was not completed until 1975 and the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena was many years away.
Wilton said an organization called the Union Pop Entertainment Committee was responsible for bringing bands, comedians and speakers to LSU. Student Government was not involved as it is today, Wilton said.
UPEC, serving the campus from 1971 to 1983, was a group of faculty members who decided what entertainment was to come on campus based on its “educational value,” Wilton said.
This committee supported the presence of such rock artists as the Grateful Dead and George Harrison, but also brought comedians like George Carlin, Bob Hope and Richard Pryor to the University.
Wilton said the only time he can recall a problem with an act coming on campus was in 1992, when Guns N’ Roses was set to perform at the PMAC and University administrators expressed concern for the band’s onstage behavior.
“I think they were a little nervous about the image of the University,” Wilton said. “But the show went on and it was a huge event.”
But since the late ’80s, there has been a steady drop off of campus concerts at LSU that University officials blame on the school’s location, a poor allocation of campus resources and the dire need of renovations to a 32 year old PMAC.
Funding a Concert
With big name acts charging between $40,000 to more than $100,000 to perform on college campuses, many universities face the dilemma of trying to provide big name entertainment while maintaining affordability to students.
“It’s a goal of ours to work with all groups to improve campus entertainment,” said SG President Allen Richey. “But we haven’t worked it all out yet. And while resources are a problem, we don’t want to raise student fees to achieve our goal.”
The Union Fee and the SG Programming, Support and Initiatives Fee are all campus officials have to work with to provide entertainment, such as concerts on campus.
Every semester, full-time students pay a $12.50 Union Fee that is distributed among numerous groups within the Union including entertainment organizations such as Music & Mayhem, the Homecoming Committee and Tigers After 10 commission.
After the money is split up, a group like Music & Mayhem only ends up with about $30,000 – hardly enough to get most “big name” artists, according to Staci Pepitone, assistant director of Union Programs.
“We can’t dedicate all the money [from the Union Fee] to concerts because some people want theater and speaking engagements,” Pepitone said. “It’s impossible to make everyone happy. What really hurts is that we get the same amount of money every year, while the artist’s price goes up.”
PSIF is another source for concert funding – although, as with the Union Fee, it is not solely for campus concerts.
Adopted in March 2001, full-time students pay $3 in the Fall and $2 in the Spring semester to PSIF, which is set up to cover various entertainment expense, along with relief funding to recreational sports club teams.
Most of that money is earmarked for specific projects.
In accordance with the fee objectives, $1 is allocated to the Spring Concert, 30 cents goes toward Homecoming, 40 cents goes to the SG concert series, 20 cents goes toward Recreational Sports assistance, while 10 cents is put toward organization initiatives and a conference support fund. In the fall ,$1 is distributed to late night programming.
That adds up to $3 that are unavailable for concert funding.
Students on Target, who put on Groovin’ on the Grounds, is supported exclusively by PSIF funding, but some organizations have access to the Union Fee and PSIF, because their funding is not adequate to cover the expense of putting on a show.
For example, Pepitone said Music & Mayhem does not always have the money to put a bid out for certain musical acts and will approach the PSIF committee to tap additional funds.
Big name artists like 50 Cent and the Red Hot Chili Peppers cost big money – more than $100,000 just to perform. The cost does not include sound, production, promotion, security, building rental, concessions or security.
If LSU attempted to bring in an act of that magnitude, campus officials would have to look for sponsorship on and off campus, as they did in fall 2002, when SG was in negotiations to bring Dave Matthews to the PMAC.
With many other universities in the running to get Dave Matthews on their campus, LSU’s bid, estimated at “well over $150,000,” fell by the wayside.
Meghan Miller, assistant director of student leadership and involvement, said the bid was placed in conjunction with the Union Program Council, along with other on-campus organizations, but was turned down because of routing issues.
Miller would not name the other on-campus organizations. But some campus officials said off-campus corporate sponsorship from Coca-Cola along with a local radio station was in on the deal.
“These artists cost a lot of money,” Miller said. “And Student Government is not in the business of putting on concerts. We advocate for students. That’s our main function.”
Concert tours have become big business and the LSU students at the helm of most of the decision making say it is remarkable that student leaders have done as well as they have in the last few years, especially when competing with schools with much larger budgets.
“The average student doesn’t realize how hard it is to get these big bands with such little money,” said Jessie Gomez, SG director of special projects. “I can only speculate that back in the day, it cost much less.”
Music & Mayhem chairman Landon Franklin said schools like Washington State University and Old Dominion University in Virginia have budgets between $200,000 and $300,000 just for concerts.
Franklin also said West Virginia University was able to bring the popular hip-hop group Outkast to campus in 2002 with its large funds.
Last year, when Southern University landed the MTV campus invasion tour, many LSU students were asking why its was not at LSU. The price tag for that package is $75,000 – well over Music & Mayhem’s budget, Franklin said.
“These universities realize that bringing this level of entertainment to their campus is a major part of the college experience,” he said. “We have tons of experience and the advisors have tons of experience, but it always comes back to the money – we need better funding.”
Pepitone has the experience. Working at promotions agency Ogden Entertainment from 1990 to 1992 in Dayton, Ohio, Pepitone is all too familiar with the business.
She used to organize shows that included 22 semi-trucks with hundreds of people on payrolls including lawyers, publicists and huge security teams. And going from a company that generated more than $4 million in annual revenue to LSU’s nearly non-existent returns – she’s seen it all.
“I have seen this from both sides,” she said. “And I really think it’s harder from LSU’s standpoint. I think a lot of artists see universities as cash cows – but they’re not. Sure, some colleges have six-figure budgets, but the majority of universities, like LSU, don’t have that kind of cash.”
Not Showing Up
LSU students have developed a reputation for not supporting a concert when one does get here.
In 1999, Music & Mayhem brought the Goo Goo Dolls to the PMAC, only selling 2,000 tickets, Pepitone said. On that same tour, she said the band pulled 5,000 to 6,000 people at other colleges.
Grammy award-winning rock band 3 Doors Down performed a $10 concert at the PMAC in 2000, and according to an article appearing in the 2001 Gumbo yearbook, the show only sold approximately 3,100 tickets – leaving 900 seats empty.
Last year, SG garnered Sister Hazel, the Pat McGee Band and Edwin McCain at the PMAC for $20,000. With 5,000 tickets on sale for $5 to students, 2,000 remained unsold.
According to Kyle Wilkinson, last year’s SG director of special projects, Sister Hazel performed a sold out concert at the University of Georgia two days earlier.
“Traditionally, we have low attendance at these events so we can’t rely on ticket sales to cover the cost,” Wilkinson said. “We have to find money all over the University and someone always takes the fall. And that leaves us looking for any form of sponsorship.”
Wilkinson said most students do not realize that if a show sells out and makes money, the proceeds will roll over to the next show, adding to the pool of money UPC and SG can draw from next time.
The same goes for other concert events like Groovin’ on the Grounds. Those funds roll over year to year if Students on Target do not spend all the money, leaving them with more capital to work with for the following year’s event.
“The hardest part is getting the word out to students and getting them there,” Wilkinson said. “There’s a very apathetic student body. They don’t realize that there’s a great show going on for real cheap.”
Money isn’t Everything
As with Dave Matthews in 2002, campus officials roll the dice on certain events and hope for the best. Even when putting competitive bids on certain artists, the outcome does not always fall in the University’s favor.
Many universities will put up comparable bids for the same talent, where the artists can pick and choose where they want to go and at times even request more money.
“The talent’s management can give you a run around and drag it out, fielding offers from other universities,” Wilkinson said. “We’ll think we have a show locked in and then another school will make an offer and steal it. It’s very frustrating.”
According to Pepitone, sometimes money is not the problem.
UPC will put an aggressive bid on certain musical talent and never get a response, or the act will refuse to perform the show for unspecified reasons.
Take this year’s Homecoming concert preparations. Initially the Homecoming Committee thought it had locked Sheryl Crow for the event. Crow’s management was seeking a tour playing college campuses and told Pepitone that they would play LSU and would get back to her for details.
A few days later, Crow’s management informed Pepitone Crow was no longer going to perform a college tour for undetermined reasons.
Without talent for the Homecoming festivities, the organization began negotiations with rock acts Everclear and Sugar Ray to perform the event.
While still in talks, Everclear dropped out of the concert. But Pepitone pursued Sugar Ray, thinking they would be a big enough draw alone. UPC even offered to fly the band into Baton Rouge for the concert.
But Sugar Ray dropped out of the show.
Pepitone said she thinks the band was not getting the offers nationally they had hoped for. Pepitone also said the band’s poor sales performance on its most recent album could have been an additional reason.
Still devoid of an artist for homecoming festivities, the committee put out a bid for R&B singer Mya.
Her management seemed excited about the idea and told Pepitone “Mya really wants to perform for all her Southern fans,” but at press time Mya’s management had been a few days late in contacting Pepitone and the situation looked unclear.
With Homecoming rapidly approaching on Nov. 1, the Homecoming Committee was still without entertainment.
This is a situation Pepitone understands well.
“Sometimes it’s not about the money,” she said. “We have put out competitive offers on all these artists, but they just decided not to do the event for reasons we don’t know. We have been competitive with money and more money really would not have fixed this problem.”
Overlooked and Outdated
After 32 years in commission the PMAC is getting old. Among other items in disrepair, the gold carpet covering the inside walls is stained and falling off, while the exterior roof tiles are coming apart. The PMAC needs a facelift.
In the ’70s though, the Assembly Center was the best of its kind and helped draw many big name artists.
“The reason you had all that music in the past was because the PMAC used to be the best venue in the region,” Franklin said. “Now Houston and New Orleans have better facilities and the PMAC got surpassed.”
According to Wilton, people go to New Orleans to see the same shows that his Riverside Centroplex hosts.
“It’s funny because we offer the same Broadway productions that New Orleans gets, but people still will make the drive,” he said. “They don’t come downtown because there’s nothing down here. People go to New Orleans and will make it an event.”
Most campus programming officials agree – the PMAC and Baton Rouge aren’t what they used to be. With the New Orleans Arena, the Superdome and UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans and the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, it’s hard for the PMAC to compete.
“Compared to other venues in the region, the PMAC is outdated and it needs upgrades and restoration,” Wilkinson said. “Given all that, it’s very difficult for the PMAC to be a big venue.”