Gas Prices, Economy Shake Sales for Summer Tours

Rolling Stone reports:

Four-dollar-a-gallon gas prices are eating away at the summer-concert business, with top festivals and tours taking unexpected box-office hits over the past few months. Bonnaroo and Coachella fell short of sellouts for the first time in years, tours such as Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Maroon 5 and George Michael are struggling, and even perennial sure things like Bruce Springsteen and Nine Inch Nails are soft in some cities. "It has an effect when people are filling up their cars for $80," says Alex Hodges, chief operating officer for Nederlander Concerts in Los Angeles. "How many concerts are they going to go to with all the other costs?"