The 21st Century

So far this century there have been no great technological advances to equal the strides in lighting and sound design in the previous decades: rather, these advances have bedded down, and have become entirely normal parts of the performance event (and, as such, their power to disrupt the processes of authentication that Moore sees as crucial to the ascription of authenticity has lessened). However, there has been a change in the status of the touring event; as a Channel Four news report on 16 August 2006 pointed out, record companies have responded to an uncertain commercial environment (created by file-sharing technologies that they find hard to control) by putting an increased emphasis on the live event as a sure source of income. This has given an added impetus to a phenomenon already well underway by the 1990s; the megatour, spanning several continents, used to maximise the profits from a particular recording, and to garner more revenue both from ticket sales (the top price for a ticket on Madonna’s Confessions tour, for example, was £160) and from ancillary merchandise. This has not only become a reliable source of income (the Stones’ Bigger Bang tour (see below) grossed £400000000 worldwide), but it has also helped to prolong the economic lives of well-established bands like the Stones and Yes, as well as giving other bands — like The Who — a reason to re-form and tour.