The company’s CEO, Michael Rapino, and executive chairman, Irving Azoff, painted a grim picture for the second half of 2010 yet noted that major artist tours, and a more customer-service-focused approach, were on tap for 2011.

Journey, Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond, Van Halen and Fleetwood Mac were among the artists cited by Azoff as plotting outings in 2011. He added that Christina Aguilera, whose 2010 summer tour was taken off the docket, would be on the road next year. He also noted that more dates are on the horizon from the cast of “Glee,” the hit Fox musical-comedy.

Yet the company, a recently merged pairing of ticketing powerhouse Ticketmaster and promotions behemoth Live Nation, would first have to navigate a limp 2010.

“The press has implied the sky is falling,” Rapino told Wall Street investors, yet he also noted that the company’s operating income for 2010 will be down significantly from that of 2009, perhaps by as much as $80 million, and said Ticketmaster’s sales are down about 12% from those of 2009.

“The press,” Rapino said, has “scared about every artist” out of touring in the fourth quarter. A number of major tours have struggled in 2010, including the refurbished Lilith Tour, and once-can’t-miss artists such as the Jonas Brothers have been canceling dates, as outlined in this front-page story in Friday’s Times. Amid rampant reports of a down market, Rapino said, “a lot of artists who had planned to tour are now saying they’re going to sit it out.”

Yet the company’s top brass did more than point fingers at the media, and promised a leaner, friendlier model for 2011. But first, artists would have to budge on ticket prices, executives said. Jason Garner, the company’s CEO for global music, acknowledged that “ticket prices need to come down” and directed the second half of his statement at artists and managers: “Your guarantee needs to come down.”

To that end, Live Nation Entertainment promised that “dynamic pricing,” which would add numerous pricing tiers, would be more widely implemented in 2011.

Source: LA Times