VH/ Orioles Lawsuit moves forward

**jd5150** · 08.11.05, 04:29 AM

If anyone remembers this story....

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4836297/detail.html

I would have gone home to see this concert. Camden Yards is awesome, or at least was awesome until they dissed the boys.

I guess my new team is now the Nationals haha.

**voivod** · 08.11.05, 05:16 AM

""""The proposed deal would have paid Van Halen $1.5 million plus 80 percent of ticket and merchandise sales.""""

How much more money would they need on top of 1.5 mil???

How on earth could the stadium afford to cover their expenses when they'd only see 20 percent of ticket prices?? Aren't t-shirt sales and other band related stuff like that done by the band directly?

**MikeL** · 08.11.05, 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by voivod

How much more money would they need on top of 1.5 mil???

Need? I don't think need factors in. The word is want, and the answer is a bunch. Touring is a cash cow--the only cash cow--for bands like VH. They talk a lot about how they want to keep ticket prices low for the fans, but what they really mean is that they want to find that magic price point where you'll pay for tickets, yet if it was $5 more you wouldn't.

**Ain't Talkin' Bout' Love** · 08.11.05, 05:32 AM

I forgot all about that, hey, LOOK! Van Halen is making headlines again! I really doubt Eddie even remembers this.

**Hotlantadude1981** · 08.11.05, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by jd5150

If anyone remembers this story....

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4836297/detail.html

I would have gone home to see this concert. Camden Yards is awesome, or at least was awesome until they dissed the boys.

I guess my new team is now the Nationals haha.

It's a waste of time being a Nationals fan since the Braves
own that division as long as Bobby Cox is the manager.

I know it's alittle offtopic, but I just wanted to bring it up=)

**PassingBy** · 08.11.05, 03:54 PM

From Blabbermouth

The Associated Press is reporting that a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by the rock group VAN HALEN against the Baltimore Orioles seeking at least $2 million from a failed concert deal will go to trial, a lawyer for the rockers said Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. last week denied the Orioles' motion for summary judgment, and a trial in District Court in Los Angeles is "imminent," according to Howard King, who represents VAN HALEN.
A trial was to have begun this month, King said, but the judge became ill.

A hearing on the Orioles' request for summary judgment was held in July, King said, and Byrne handed down the denial on Aug. 4.

The band contends in the suit filed in August 2004 that the baseball team sought to have it perform the first-ever concert inside Camden Yards and then backed out of the deal.

The proposed deal would have paid VAN HALEN $1.5 million plus 80 percent of ticket and merchandise sales.

I did the numbers on this. If the guarantee is $1.5 Mio and they want 80% of the tickets and merchandise gross, the promoter breaks even, when the stadium (assumed capacity 50000) is sold out and each and every VH fan leaves at least $150 behind him in tickets and t-shirts.

So VH either screws the promoter or, if the promoter breaks even or makes a profit, VH goes home with in excess of $6 (sic) Mio dollars milked from the fan base. 6 Mio $ for 2 hours of work, thats greedy.

I am disgusted.

math: 1.5 mio / 50000 seats = 30$
30$ * 100 / (100 - 80) = 150 $
(150$ - 30 $) * 50000 = 6 Mio

**onefootoutthedoor** · 08.11.05, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by PassingBy

From Blabbermouth

I did the numbers on this. If the guarantee is $1.5 Mio and they want 80% of the tickets and merchandise gross, the promoter breaks even, when the stadium (assumed capacity 50000) is sold out and each and every VH fan leaves at least $150 behind him in tickets and t-shirts.

So VH either screws the promoter or, if the promoter breaks even or makes a profit, VH goes home with in excess of $6 (sic) Mio dollars milked from the fan base. 6 Mio $ for 2 hours of work, thats greedy.

I am disgusted.

math: 1.5 mio / 50000 seats = 30$
30$ * 100 / (100 - 80) = 150 $
(150$ - 30 $) * 50000 = 6 Mio

Is that greedy or just smart business?

**EVH Army** · 08.12.05, 12:16 AM

I like the Orioles, but I have to admit that they're becoming the circus class of the MLB.

And in recent news, Michael Anthony admits that he put steriods in the bottle of hot sause that he gave to Rafael Palmeiro. He then said, just like Jose Canseco did to Mark McGwire, he injected some of the hot sauce in Palmeiro's ass. All Palmeiro said about this was, "I never took steroids, I had hot sause that came from Mike Anthony, PERIOD."

**Hotlantadude1981** · 08.12.05, 04:16 AM

I can't believe they took on Sammy... It was pretty clear last year
that he was going to hit a real sharp decline this year and that is
what he has done.

.236 batting average 14HR's .311OBP

Yikes!

**DaveB** · 08.12.05, 08:15 AM

any opinions on how many people would have gone? I love the park (went last year), but I am from Massachusetts and not familiar enough with that area to say what the fan base is like and how they do for concerts around there...thoughts?

**ZORBA5150** · 08.12.05, 08:17 AM

Would they even come close to selling out, if they had played there?

**Mothergreen** · 08.12.05, 09:02 AM

NEWS POSTED ON YAHOO.COM...

BALTIMORE - A breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by Van Halen against the Baltimore Orioles seeking at least $2 million from a failed concert deal will go to trial, a lawyer for the rock band said...

Link

GREAT EDDIE PICTURE ON THIS SIDE.

Greets
Mothergreen

**Sunya** · 08.12.05, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by PassingBy

From Blabbermouth

I did the numbers on this. If the guarantee is $1.5 Mio and they want 80% of the tickets and merchandise gross, the promoter breaks even, when the stadium (assumed capacity 50000) is sold out and each and every VH fan leaves at least $150 behind him in tickets and t-shirts.

So VH either screws the promoter or, if the promoter breaks even or makes a profit, VH goes home with in excess of $6 (sic) Mio dollars milked from the fan base. 6 Mio $ for 2 hours of work, thats greedy.

I am disgusted.

math: 1.5 mio / 50000 seats = 30$
30$ * 100 / (100 - 80) = 150 $
(150$ - 30 $) * 50000 = 6 Mio

You're basing your figures on a sold out house. That's unlikely. And the tickets at the cheapest on this tour did sell for $45 for nose bleed. At least there were some in St Louis for that I know because I check for a friend that met me there from the state of WA. And those sold out because she couldn't get one. So some fans did leave less than $150 behind ok. Then you left out overhead. You think the rental of all those semis and gear was cheap? For the first half of the tour they had their own catering staff travel with them, a road crew, the tec crew, all the stage equipment rental, etc, etc. Sure they made a ton of money each show. But they had a huge overhead also. And so what if they feathered their nest. This could very well be the last tour they ever do. And their tickets were a hell of a lot cheaper than some I've seen. Go buy a ticket to an Eagles concert ok. Or a Billy Joel concert. Good lord, those will make you happy to pay for a VH ticket. When the Eagles went on their first reunion tour, what 5 years ago, tickets were $125. 2 years ago the tickets for the Billy Joel/Elton John tour were $150. Quit crying. This might have been the last time you ever get to see Ed play. Count your blessings that you got to see him one last time. The shape he's in, who knows what tomorrow brings. I know that's harsh, but but it's a reality.

**ron** · 08.12.05, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by PassingBy

So VH either screws the promoter or, if the promoter breaks even or makes a profit, VH goes home with in excess of $6 (sic) Mio dollars milked from the fan base. 6 Mio $ for 2 hours of work, thats greedy.

That's not what the band was charging for the show, that's what the stadium/promoters were WILLING to give VH for the show. The report was that they were willing to take a bath on the concert to jump-start the ability to use the stadium for future concerts. The offer started at $1mil and then climbed to $1.5mil. That's when VH got interested and tried to get the deal finished. The original stories (from last August) contain more of the details...

**Little Dreamer** · 08.12.05, 02:40 PM

I think that the venue makes money from people drinking and eating at the show. That's 100% for the stadium. You guys are forgetting this.

I don't think touring is the only cash cow for VH. VH makes A LOT of money from royalties. Probably each VH members makes in excess of 1 million $ only in royalties from songs being played on the radio.
I'm not even talking about album sales here.
Regarding album sales, for each VH album (with the possible exception of VHIII), Warner's advance has been recouped a long time ago. Meaning that for each album sold (and the VH catalog still sells very well), VH gets money, with a pretty good royalty rate, even better than the one Ed Leffler had brillantly negociated in the early nineties.
And I'm not even gonna go into endorsements and other sources of revenue.
VH makes A RIDICULOUS amount of money every year, tour or no tour. Even Sammy has admitted that in interviews, and Sammy's an expert when it comes to assessing a big wad of dough!

VH has a lot of overhead... yeah... right... cry me a river!
They made $30 million in year 2004 only!

Source: Forbes magazine through www.vhnd.com

Got no problem with this... except maybe after making all this money the guys in the band could make a LITTLE effort and get together and record a new CD. Too much to ask? Ah... sorry.