Did you hear? The Black Eyed Peas will be performing at Breslin Center on Monday. With exhaustive advertising for the event both on and off campus, chances are you did.
Actually, given current ticket sales for the concert - which organizers describe as disappointing - a better question might be "did you care?"
"It hasn't sold very well so far," said Scott Breckner, director of Breslin Center. "Everyone we had talked to indicated that it would be a slam-dunk ticket."
With the concert still days away, there is still a chance people might flock to the venue to purchase tickets. Even if that doesn't happen, though, the Peas shouldn't feel bad. Since the beginning of the school year, Breslin Center has offered up two other national hip-hop acts with similar or worse results.
In September, officials pulled the plug on a scheduled Big Boi, Twista and Jadakiss show because of "low anticipation of ticket sales." In late October, rappers Mase, Mobb Deep and T.I. played to a crowd of less than 1,000 at the events center - a far cry from the mass of roughly 4,000 that promoters hoped for, and nowhere near Breslin Center's more than 8,000-person capacity.
Noting the much greater success of a Ludacris and Chingy concert at Breslin last spring, Breckner said he can only guess at the reasons behind lackluster responses to campus hip-hop shows this fall.
"The issue with some of the urban stuff is there are so many urban acts out there in hip-hop that it's difficult to assess that some acts will sell out and others won't," Breckner said. "Interestingly enough, Big Boi had just won four (MTV Video Music Awards)."
Low interest in area hip-hop concerts is not limited to campus. According to Jerome White, general manager of The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave., in Lansing, rap shows routinely provide disappointing returns at Lansing venues.
"As far as big name hip-hop shows go, I personally have refrained from doing them specifically because the attendance has been relatively low," White said. "We have five bad national hip-hop shows for every good one we've had."
Popular underground hip-hop acts like Sage Francis, Eyedea and Jeru the Damaja have all garnered little interest, he said.
Although both Breckner and White can attest to the reduced popularity of rap shows, they have different opinions on the underlying reasons.
Breckner, who says that poor ticket sales aren't limited to hip-hop acts, blames current societal factors.
"It's across the board, not specifically related to hip-hop," he said. "Definitely the economy is an issue that's impacting the situation. You might throw in what's going on with the political climates that everybody's so consumed with."
Breckner said interest in concerts and similar events is the lowest he has seen since Breslin Center opened in 1989.
Even though Breckner attributes low ticket sales to the poor economy, White thinks low attendance for rap shows is just a phase.
"Everything is a trend," he said. "Popular musical genres change every two years. Three years ago hip-hop was up, and there was nothing bigger."
Rock acts such as Ben Kweller and Death Cab for Cutie are more likely to draw crowds, White said.
"Our rock 'n' roll shows have been steadily increasing," he said. "I think a lot of attention has been refocused onto good old fashioned rock 'n' roll. Especially with the college kids. With indie rock bands, it's pretty much a slam dunk."
White described the music scene in and around Lansing as "hit or miss," noting that by the time many MSU students are 21 and old enough to attend many shows at The Temple Club, they are almost ready to graduate and leave.
"The people who are coming up next are probably listening to something different," he said.
Jaime Wilkins, owner of Code of the Cutz, 317 M.A.C Ave., shared White's sentiment that the tastes of local residents are difficult to understand. Her store, which deals mainly in independent and underground hip-hop albums, often sponsors local shows.
"I don't know what to do to get people to come out," Wilkins said. "We've done (in-store performances) where it's packed and no one can move, and we've done in-stores where no one shows up."
Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, is another venue that hosts underground hip-hop shows regularly. Like other promoters, Mac's booking agent Steve Lambert said he's shying away from inviting hip-hop acts.
"Michigan artists generally do pretty well, but with out-of-state acts it's hard to tell," Lambert said. "I've come to the conclusion that I won't guarantee crowds anymore for hip-hop shows."
Today it's also harder for concert organizers to determine which acts will draw large crowds because people no longer get their tunes in traditional ways.
"We used to use CD sales, but we can't anymore because of MP3 downloads," Breckner said. "That monitoring variable is disjointed."
Breslin Center officials generally aim to fill at least 50 percent of the center's capacity. Still, that goal only represents a "break-even" point.
The most successful acts in the country right now - performers such as Usher, Sting and Toby Keith - regularly sell out venues similar to Breslin.
As a much smaller venue, The Temple Club hopes for a minimal 70 percent attendance rate for its shows, but doesn't have the luxury of canceling shows because of poor initial sales.
"We typically sell three times as many door admissions as advanced tickets," White said. "It's impossible for us to cancel a show before we get too far in."
The coming months will determine what the future holds for hip-hop shows in the Lansing area.
Although Mac's generally hosts about one hip-hop show a month, Lambert said he doesn't have another scheduled until January.
White said he thinks the genre is merely at a low point, and The Temple Club continues to hold hip-hop shows, although in reduced amounts. The venue will host a benefit hip-hop show at 9 p.m. today for Code of the Cutz
Breckner is also optimistic. He is confident that sales for the concerts will eventually rebound.
"We've looked at sitting tight and seeing what happens in the next two to three months," he said. "Once we get through December, the feeling is kind of upbeat that things will resume to what they were prior to this.
"We're still interested (in hip-hop). It's a strong market."
