Yet more trouble for NTV - t.A.T.u. concert to be poorly attended?Time of publication: 09.11.2003 (23:52) |
NTV, which has been rocked by a scandal in which a producer rigged viewing figures, is apparently agonising over a new problem. The cause of this headache is the chaotic Russian duo t.A.T.u. Tickets for their concerts on 1st & 2nd December in Tokyo Dome are not selling at all and it looks like NTV, one of the sponsors, will have to pick up the tab.
According to a music industry insider, "There's a rumour that they've only sold about 30,000 tickets for the two days. Given that they'd anticipated it would be attended by 90,000, and that they need at least 70,000 in order to break even...it's a terrible situation." Some sources say that t.A.T.u.'s fee for the concert will be Y300 million. This is an unprecedented amount for a Western artist, let alone a newcomer, and given the group's typical fanbase, the ticket price (Y7,500), in which this fee is reflected, was not cheap. Their debut album was a smash hit in early spring, but according to one Western music specialist "This is an age in which CD sales do not translate into concert attendance. I also can't help feeling that the timing of their concert is rather late. If only they'd done it in August or September..."
Amid this situation, some of those involved with the event are saying "It seems that NTV, one of the sponsors, has signed a contract under which they'd bear almost half of the costs if the concert went into the red. Given the current situation, they may well need to prepare themselves to cover a deficit of tens of millions of yen." t.A.T.u. recently made an exceptionally unusual visit to Japan to do publicity for the concerts, but some say that, "Actually, the best thing to do would be to cancel the event, as the resultant losses from this would be lower."
t.A.T.u. were the focus of scathing criticism from the president of NTV, after their walkout from the TV Asahi Music Station programme during their first visit to Japan, back in June. Is his own company now going to be a victim of t.A.T.u.?! Depending on how ticket sales go from now on, it looks as though there will be fears about who will bear the losses and the responsibility following the concert.
Source: TatySite.net (by material of Fuji Evening News)
Specal thanks to LenochkaO. |
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