Talk about striking while the iron is hot. One Direction is the leading the charge in the new boy band craze we find ourselves in. Tickets to their shows are selling so fast that they have very smartly, 14 months in advance, announced a summer 2013 tour.
The group opened for fellow boy band Big Time Rush this spring, but very quickly overtook BTR in popularity. First album, “Up All Night” bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 a few weeks ago, the first album by a British band to ever come in in the top spot, and the group”s first headlining U.S. tour, which starts later this Spring, sold out in minutes.
So, the band”s handlers very wisely decided to cash in on today”s excitement since boy bands have notoriously short shelf lives and famously fickle fans.
Today, One Direction announced a U.S. tour that will start June 13, 2013 in Ft. Lauderdale. Tickets go on sales April 21, 2012. I have been covering the music industry for 20 years and I have NEVER heard of tickets going on sale for an event more than one year in advance. The news also comes right after the band appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and “ICarly,” basically hitting an 8-to-54 demo.
Here”s why it”s so smart: All the parents who are fretting because their little darlings were locked out of this Spring”s concert tickets and are bummed that they can”t afford to pay $500 for a Craig”s List ticket will go ahead and buy tickets for 2013. The tickets will be attached to the refrigerator or bulletin board with great care with a magnet or thumb tack.
While I have no doubt that One Direction will still be around this time next year (and you can bet that another album will drop sometime next Spring to give them new material for the tour), the evanescent nature of boy bands” appeal ensures that about probably 30% of their rabid fan base will have aged out and moved on to a more age-appropriate band by next summer. And that is never a good enough reason to get a ticket refund.
It”s a very clever move. It takes care of the demand that was not remotely sated by the 2012 tour and exploits, in the best possible use of the word, the near-hysterical level of excitement about the band.
At this point, it”s all about stoking the fires and keeping them burning: on May 29, the band will release “Up All Night: The Live Tour DVD,” which features a 73-minute concert, behind-the-scenes footage and three music videos.
And if you”re looking ahead to 2013 already, here are One Direction”s tour dates.
One Direction 2013 Summer Tour Dates:
6/13 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BankAtlantic Center
6/14 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
6/18 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
6/19 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
6/21 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
6/22 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena (formerly RBC Arena)
6/23 Washington, DC Verizon Center
6/26 Boston, MA Comcast Center
6/28 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
7/4 Montreal, PQ Bell Centre
7/6 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
7/8 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
7/9 Toronto, Ontario Air Canada Centre
7/12 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
7/13 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
7/18 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
7/19 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
7/24 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
7/25 Salt Lake City, UT Maverick Center
7/27 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
7/28 Seattle, WA KeyArena
7/31 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
8/2 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
8/6 San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8/7 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
*more dates to be announced