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When the economy tanks, everyone feels the pain. Even the New York Yankees, who in the run-up to the opening of the new Yankee Stadium gave every indication that they were immune to the effects of the recession, are finding themselves slashing their (ridiculously high) ticket prices in the face of half-empty sections of the stadium. And don't think that the team doesn't notice - one thing I've learned from putting on WNYC's "New Sounds Live" concerts over the years is that there isn't a performer in the world, of any stripe, who prefers a large space half-filled to a much smaller space that's full.

The rush you get from 100 people packed into a small hall is enormous; those same 100 people rattling around in a place that seats 500 produce an anemic amount of energy. These sorts of practical considerations have forced the concert industry to do a reality check. And the results haven't been pretty - festivals cancelled or drastically scaled back, tours cut, and ticket prices slashed. Now, that last doesn't sound too bad, but of course lower ticket prices for us means less money for the artists and the presenters, and possibly then fewer opportunities to see our favorite artists (unless they're local).

The funny thing in all this is that as cheap seats at concerts have become even cheaper, the best seats, the really high-end ones, have not been reduced in price and are still selling. Unlike those seats behind home plate at Yankee Stadium, the real pricey tickets continue to do well. The huge disparity between the highest and lowest ticket prices at concerts and festivals offers pretty stark and convincing evidence of that old adage, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

We've talked about this on the show before, but the paradigm in the music biz has changed. For most artists now, the record deal is no longer than thing that makes you a professional musician and drives your career. The record is now the calling card that gets you the gigs and the audiences who fill those places and buy your merch (concert lingo for merchandise - t-shirts, cds, etc.) The decline of the record industry hasn't killed music - in fact, you could almost say the reverse; there seems to be more music out there, and more bands touring, than at anytime before. But if the live concert industry hits the skids, then what? It sounds like a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, musicians tend to be resourceful when put to the test, and usually find a way to cobble together enough paying gigs to keep from starving; and listeners in tough times have to make tough choices, but there are many of us who would put music on the "Necessities" list instead of the "Luxuries" one. (Maybe the two-tier pricing we're seeing these days reflects that.) Of course, we'll probably see the herd being culled a bit, but that's not a bad thing either.

Tell us: Is the economy changing your concert-going habits?
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