As House of Blues made plans for its Downtown nightclub official last week, predictions of higher prices and complete corporate domination of San Diego’s concert industry were turned up a notch.
Although the deal has been the focus of speculation for more than a year, the Los Angeles-based entertainment company formally announced they signed a 10-year lease for the former Woolworth’s building Downtown on Fifth Street. Financial details were not disclosed.
House of Blues also owns Universal Concerts, which in San Diego gives them control of the Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and exclusive booking rights to the Cox Arena and the Open Air Amphitheatre, both on SDSU’s campus.
Its main competition in the country, New York-based SFX, has an exclusive booking deal with the San Diego Sports Arena.
The club, which will include a 1,200-seat capacity venue and a 250-seat restaurant, represents an option for a smaller venue, for lesser-known bands that may not sell thousands of tickets or a higher-priced “intimate venue” for a popular act.
According to Liam Thornton, senior vice president of development for House of Blues, the company expects to open the location next autumn.
Design plans and the project’s construction schedule are still being finalized, Thornton said. “Obviously, we’d prefer the sooner the better,” he said.
Bob Speth doesn’t share the feeling. As the owner of a similarly sized venue two blocks west, 4th & B, House of Blues’ announcement puts an end date to his ability to competitively bid for most popular acts, he said.
House of Blues’ reputation , specifically, its deeper pockets and ability to book into multiple venues , will likely appeal to artists and their management more than an independent venue with one location, he said.
“I’ve just been lucky I’ve been spared the onslaught for as long as I have,” Speth said. Having already launched additional comedy nights and more specialized entertainment acts, he plans to diversify further.
“We had to search for a new audience that would be attractive to the advertising community,” Bushey said. Ad revenues are slipping with ’60s-based oldies stations across the United States, he said.
According to Anderson, of ProMedia, the oldies format has been hugely successful in other markets, she said, mentioning Los Angeles station KRTH-FM, called K-Earth.
“I don’t know why Oldies 94.9 wasn’t able to make a go of it,” she said.
The younger market KBZT now targets, while more appealing to advertisers, is far more competitive, she said.
“There’s a lot of people chasing that same pie of 30-year-olds,” she said.
One reason the younger market is appealing is because they are more likely to make changes in what they buy, Scholl said.
In contrast, listeners to the ’60s format, which tend to skew older, are a less ideal consumer, she said.
“Once people tend to hit an older age, they become more set in their ways,” Scholl said. “They know exactly what they like and they purchase the same brands over and over.”
Anderson said KMSX and KBZT might run into problems if they stay too general.
“Maybe those listeners and that music will become better defined,” she said. “Maybe one of the two stations will develop a more hard edge, more the rock, and one will go more the pop, soft. They can’t all do the same thing.”
Ironically, KBZT’s new format left the San Diego market without a mainstream ’60s station and the opening was swiftly filled by KJQY, a Clear Channel station that had been playing soft-oldies music.
“The radio market is not in a vacuum,” said Glickenhaus, “so when somebody leaves a format, it gives an opportunity for somebody else to move in and that’s what we did.”
